Death Or Glory
by Tazer444
Summary: The zombie apocalypse can be rough, and for these new combatants, they'll need all the help they can get.
1. Chapter 1

Death Or Glory 

By Griffin Corallo

**Hey guys, Tazer here. I really hope you enjoy this first installment in my story. This is my first real story I've ever submitted to... well anything really. I don't expect it to be that good, but I really hope you guys like it. Enjoy.**

In two weeks, the whole world managed to go to hell. It started off simple, the green flu. Nobody expected it to be what it became. They say patient zero went mad during his treatment and bit his nurse. Just like him, she became victim to the green flu, and she too, infected those around her. It spread fast, faster than anything the world has ever seen. It took over the United States in a matter of days, with the majority of the population becoming "infected" and looking for people to eat. Zombies. Then it started to spread to the other nations of the world. It was a catastrophe. Cities were evacuated. The death toll in the hundreds of thousands, the undead toll in the millions. But this is no history lesson. This is the story of the survivors of the hell they call the world around them.

It was a cold day in the Savannah. Rain harder than most town folk had ever seen, that is, the ones that were left. Buildings empty. Cars in the middle of the street, doors wide open. A lone figure walked through the wreckage. He walked slowly, cautiously. He held a crowbar, bathed in rust and blood. It wasn't the suspense of being attacked that killed the man, it was the silence. The town had always been loud and full of life, and to see it like this was simply unbearable. The silence was broken. He heard a low growl, somewhere near by. He looked around, and found the growl coming a small alley near the local bar and a 7/11. Too dark to see anything. He walked in, doing his best not to make a noise.

He heard the footsteps. They were slow, but didn't attempt to hide from the stranger. He saw a figure limping torwards him. He finally saw the figure, a woman. Her skin a pale white. Her hair dead to the roots, her yellow tank-top ripped, blood stains. Blood coming from her lip. She looked at the lone survivor.

"Aw crap..." He mumbled.

She let out a loud moan, and charged at him. She reached for his left arm, he dodged as best he could, but her nails scratched his forearms. He gripped his weapon, and swung at her right temple. Hit made contact, hitting her as hard as she could. She let out a groan, and tilted to the left. He kicked her in the chest, knocking her off her feet. She feel to the floor. In an attempt to take advantage of the situation, he began to beat her as she layed on the ground. After several whacks, he stopped. She didn't move. The survivor let out a huge sigh. He turned to his left, and next to a small garbage can, was a door that went to the bar. He walked to the door, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. He opened the door, to find a dirty and smelly hangout for the scum of the Savannah. He found himself on the bartender's side of the counter, finding the remnants of drinks and bottles. Someone had been here first. He looked around the small room, to find a few supplies that may get him through a week or so.

"Well I'll be a sonofabitch..." He murmered.

Unexpectadly, he had found a small handgun by the register. A single clip layed beside it. It was better than the blunt weapon he had now. He continued to rumage through the area. He found by a table, writing on the wall. It was the first sign of any communication he had seen since epidemic began. He skimmed through some of the writings.

"No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted"

"It takes a day for the infection to take place"

"I've seen it happen in a few minutes."

He grinned. It was the first and only sign he had seen of survivors. He found the sharpie they had been writing with. He uncapped it, and began to write on the wall.

"E-L-L..." He said to himself.

In stood up, proud to make some communication. He walked back to the counter to continue to look for supplies. He stopped, and looked back at his writing.

ELLIS WAS HERE

He turned back to the counter, and continued his work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone. Tazer again. With my second installment of Death Or Glory. The story is going to alternate between the original and new survivors. There will probably be some romance as the story progresses, but at the moment, most of the survivors are alone. I hope you guys enjoy this second installment of the series.**

Ellis decided to take a short break from all the zed busting to get it all in perspective. He sat at a bar stool, arms crossed on the counter. If he had the supplies, he'd drink his troubles away. He wondered if he'd ever see a person that didn't want to eat his face off. He sat there for minutes. He closed his eyes, if only for a moment, and sure enough, our buddy Ellis was out like a light.

Meanwhile, lets meet another player in this game. He also lived in the Savannah along with Ellis, though they've never met. That changes today. A tall, plump man walked through the streets of his hometown, for what seemed like the last time. Nothing but the sound of moaning and growling could be heard. He wondered if there was something to eat around, he was starting to get hungry. He turned, to find his local 7/11. He grinned. He walked into the store, and to his surprise, it was almost fully stocked. His small grin was a smile that went from ear to ear. But his happiness would have to wait, because a small growl broke his train of thought. He wasn't alone in the store. He slowly walked through the candy aisle, hearing movement coming from the aisle next to him. He was unarmed, but an idea came into his head. He grabbed the tray itself, and pushed in forward with all his strength. It feel forwards, and heard a loud impact, and a cry.

Ellis eyes popped out of his head. Some loud noise had woken him up, and it was nearby. He grabbed his weapons, and went to check it out.

The large man let out a sigh of relief, but was cut short when the wooden tray began moving. A figure rose, pushing it aside. It turned to the survivor. It was a zombie. It hid it's face with a dark blue hoodie and blue jeans, oddly enough, with duct tape on the arms and legs of the clothing. It hunched over, preparing for combat. The survivor was unsure how to react. He couldn't move, or breath. Was this the end?

Both parties turned when the door creaked as it opened.

"Peek-a-boo!" Ellis yelled, raising his gun at the zombie. It leaped at Ellis, it's claw-like arms reaching for him. Ellis pulled the trigger, the bullet through out of the gun, hitting the creature in the shoulder. It didn't react in the slightest to the shot, and crashed into Ellis while in the air, knocking him to the ground. Ellis dropped both his weapons. It began scratching at him, Ellis cried: "GET THIS BASTARD OFFA ME!"

The other man didn't pause at for a second. Grabbing the crowbar, he walked the zed in the back as hard as he could. The creature flinched, throwing a claw at the other survivor, who moved out of the way of the attack. Ellis reached for his gun, but his arm wasn't long enough. The other man swung again, hitting the zed in the left arm.

"GIMME THE GUN!" Ellis cried, "GIMME THE FREAKIN' GUN!"

The man kicked the gun at Ellis, it stopped right by his face. He grabbed it, but the zombie scratched his arm, Ellis let out a squeal of pain. The second man cocked back the crowbar with all his strength, releasing the swing, hitting it right on the top of the head. It let out one last cry, and fell off of Ellis. Both survivors looked at one another. Ellis rose as the other man returned to the fallen candy aisle. He grabbed a few chocolate bars, opened one right away, and began scarfing it down. Ellis walked to the man, arm raised.

"Thanks man." Ellis grinned, "I'da been killed by that SOB if you hadn'ta helped."

The other man turned to him, accepting the handshake. "Kid," He began, "I should be thanking you. If you wouldn't have showed up, that thing would have cut me to pieces. So whats your name, son?"

"Ellis. My names Ellis. Yours?"

"MY friends call me Coach."

"Alrighty then Coach, you heard any news about evacuation?"

"I heard a rescue chopper was coming to pick up survivors in the next town over."

The men looked out one another. Coach broke the silence.

"If we wanna get to that chopper, were gonna need to stick together."

"Right." Ellis replied, "Don't you worry none, sir. I got your back."

The two nodded, and walked out of the store.

Somewhere, not too far away, we find another survivor at the edge of the Savannah. A woman, holding a fireaxe. She wore a small pink shirt of her favorite band, nice, tight jeans, and black boots. She too knew about the evac in Garden City. The woman did her best not to make any noise. The last thing she wanted was to alert any nearby infected. She was here reporting the green flu. In the middle of taping, her cameraman was bitten by one of the infected, and as such, he became one of them. She barely got out with her life.

She let out a low sigh. Worst. Day. Ever. It was going to rain soon. The clouds began to bunch together, in a dark shade of gray.

"Well thats perfect." She thought to herself.

And then we find ourselves with the last survivor in the Savannah. He began to wipe his dirty white suit, while holding his cellphone, looking for a signal.

"C'mon!" He murmered, "C'mon..."

No signal.

"TITS!" He cried.

He threw his phone against a nearby building, breaking it into two. Wasn't gonna do him good anymore. He went into his coat pocket, and grabbed the magnum he had found. He had a feeling he'd need it. All was quiet. For now anyway. He hated small urban towns. He should have stayed in Vegas. Not that it matters now. He stopped. Shoelace untied. Lovely. He went down to tie it. He heard a gurgling sound for up above. He looked up. At the top of a building, was a large woman like zed. Her shirt mostly ripped up, exposing most of her body, her jeans somewhat intact. Her main and most noteable feature, was her long, giraffe-like neck. She gurgled again, spitting out him. It hit the ground near him, it was a boiling green.

"Thats some nasty shit." He winced.

She preparded to spit again, he shot at her, hitting her in the leg. Not wanting to waste another shot, he ran. She spit again, almost hitting him. He shot again, missing. She followed him on the rooftop. She attempted to jump to the next rooftop, but fell to the ground, face first. He heard the splat, but kept running. After about a block or so, he stopped to catch his breath. He saw a small sign.

GARDEN CITY

17 MILES

He took a deep breath in.

""

**And so this chapter comes to a close. You may have noticed its a little longer than chapter one, and I plan on making them all this long. The next chapter will be about the original Left 4 Dead cast. I love writing these, and hope you guys enjoy reading them.**


	3. Chapter 3

Death Or Glory 

Chapter 3: The way we get by

Another cold day in Phillie. And zombies too. Great. But this chapter isn't about Ellis, or Coach, no, it's about another girl. She walked through the streets, her shoes getting dirty and wet as she stepped through puddle after puddle. She grasped her baseball bat, circling the area as she walked. She had already seen the infected in action. Some were getting... different. She remembered seeing one that could several feet at a time. It was only going to get harder from here. Crying, growling, moaning. It was all she heard, it flooded the city like the green flu itself. One of the noises was getting closer, and closer. Moaning. She braced herself, and turned. Several infected, seven to nine, running to her. No way she could fight them all alone. One got close and reached for her, she wacked it in the face, turned, and ran with it all.

They didn't let up. The infected she hit rose and continued chasing her. They were slowly gaining on her. She wouldn't last long on this route. She made a sharp turn to the left. She chose not to run in the road. She didn't need anymore "attention" then she already she had. Suddenly, something grabbed her by the leg. Long and sticky. It knocked her to the ground. She turned to a nearby fire escape to see a new type of infected. Covered in boils, releasing a fume from its head. Its most noteable feature was its long tougne. It seems to go on for miles. The girl found herself in the air, the other infected closing in. One got within scratching distance, she swung on the tougne and kicked it in the face. This wasn't going to work. She closed her eyes, and heard a large boom. She fell to the floor.

She opened her eyes, to see the infected dropping like flies.

_Tang-tang-tang!_

She turned to the fire escape. Another survivor. He was an old fellow. Silver hair and a beard. A cigarette dangling from his lip. He wore a green beret, and old army fatigues. He fired an M-16. The final infected final dropped, and he stopped firing, and looked at her.

"More'll be here soon." He said, "Come with me."

She nodded, a little confused. She ran to the ladder of the fire escape. She climbed it. The man extended his hand to her, she grabbed it, and he pulled her up.

"Ya'll right there, kid?" He asked.

"Y-yeah..." She mumbled, "Just a little shakened up is all."

"Names Bill."

".. Zoey."

"Alright then Zoey. If we wanna get outta this shitstain of a city, we need to walk. Lets stick together. It could keep us alive." Bill said calmly.

Zoey nodded.

Bill went through the open window of the building, Zoey followed. She looked around, it was an apartment. Old and crappy looking. The only thing that didn't look infected were the rats. Bill was at point. Zoey followed slowly. There was no way this place empty. Doors were wide open, holes in them. The zed had been here.

"Keep on your twos, Zoey." Bill whispered. They heard a thud down the hall. There was something going on for sure over there. The two eased their way to the door that hid whatever was happening. Bill on the ride side of the doorframe, Zoey on the left. Bill slowly grabbed the doorknob. The noises stopped, as if they were alerted. He opened the door. Suddenly, a figure leaped through the open door. Black hoodie. Blue jeans.

"Hunter!" Bill cried, aiming his weapon at the zombie. He fired a few rounds, hitting it twice, but it ran down the hall.

"What the hell!" Zoey yelled.

"That was a Hunter," Bill answered. "Their quick bastards. They jump farther than anything I've ever seen, their claws rip through flesh like a knife through butter."

"I've seen it before. Didn't know they had a name though. Should we go after it?"

"No... for all we know, it could be trying to lead us to a horde, or preparing an ambush."

"Their getting smart..."

"Their changing. You saw that one with the long-ass tougne. And that son of a bitch. God knows how else they've changed. We'll need to keep moving, maybe find some supplies."

Zoey pointed to the nearby stairs. Bill nodded. They slowly went down. Zoey thought she heard growling again. 

"I really hope that was just my imagination." She thought to herself.

The reached the bottom floor. Still no sign of the Hunter.

"Any ideas on where to get some supplies?" Zoey asked.

"I was hoping you knew. I've been in this town for a few days, and wasn't focusing on sight-seeing." Bill replied.

"I know there was a coffee shop by my apartment."

"Jesus, another aparment?"

"Yup." Zoey shrugged.

The two finally exited the building, walking down the sidewalk. It was quiet for a short while. Zoey looked at Bill. He looked so strong for a man his age. He took a drag from his cigarette.

"Ya know smoking is bad for you." Zoey said, breaking the silence.

"So is fight a bunch of undead pricks. But I'm still gonna do it anyway." Bill said.

Zoey looked to the ground. Blood stains were even on the sidewalk. This sucked. She began to drift in her head. She remembered life before hell came to the United States. Sitting in her room, watching movies. Eating dinner with mom and dad... before the divorce. And it all went to hell in a matter of days. It's really sad how everything turns out in the end.

"ZOEY!" Bill yelled.

She snapped out of it, she found Bill yelling out her and pointing.

"MOVE! MOVE!"

Zoey returned to reality. She heard a bunch of growling and moaning. Alot of them were coming. She ran with Bill.

"Wheres this aparment of yours!" Bill asked.

"Two blocks from here. Follow me!" Zoey answered.

She took the lead. Bill turned. The horde was chasing them, and they were catching up. Bill sprayed into the crowd, hitting a few. Zoey made a right, Bill followed. Suddenly, Bill was knocked to the ground. The Hunter!

"Get off of him!" Zoey yelled, wacking it with her bat. It looked to her, being annoyed by being hit. She kicked it in the back, and it fell off Bill. She helped Bill up, as the Hunter regained its balance. Bill shot at the Hunter, hitting it in the leg. It let out a loud cry. But before Bill & Zoey could see what it did next, they turned and continued running.

"Oh shit! Oh shit!" Zoey yelled as she turned as she say the horde chasing them, "There must be like a hundred of them!"

Bill began shooting at them again, one fell over dead.

"99!" Bill shouted as he continued to run and gun,"98!" As another dropped.

But it was all to no avil, there were too many. Bill, in an attempt to conserve ammo, stopped firing, and kept his eyes forward.

"There it is!" Zoey pointed at a large building. She and Bill ran through the door of it. Bill stood in front of the door trying to block it.

"Find something big!" He yelled, "ANYTHING!"

Zoey looked around as quickly as she could. She finally looked behind the stairs and found a single molotov.

"Bill!" Zoey yelled, "Your lighter!"

Bill went into his pocket, and tossed it to her. She grabbed it, and began to light the paper in the bottle.

"MOVE!" She cried. He complied. The door opened, and Zoey tossed it out the door. The stoop burst into flames, but as the horde approached, they still ran through the flames. They began to fall over, succumbing to the flames. Bill pointed to the stairs. As he ran up, Zoey followed. They ran to the third floor, where Zoey's apartment was. She ran to the door she knew so well, and she opened it and went inside with Bill.

Her apartment was small. A little television was complimented by a crappy couch Zoey got from her father before she left home. The kitchen dirty with dishes in it. Next to the television was tray full of DVDs and movies. Bill sat on the couch to catch his breath.

"Anything worth taking?" He asked.

Zoey rummaged through her things.

"I got... two mini-bags of cheetoes, some Mountain Dew, some instant noodles, and a few candy bars." She answered.

"Thats it?" Bill asked. "Those are the closest things to rations we have?"

"Sadly."

Bill sighed.

"Your T.V. work?" He asked.

"It should. Haven't touched it lately."

Bill turned it on, to find static, he played with the buttons to find the news.

"-tay indoors at all times." The news reporter read, "If you do however, come into contact with an infected human, you will no choice but to kill it. To do so, use whatever you can find, a stick, anything, and begin to hit it repeatadly in the head. Skull fractures seem to stop the creatures. And direct brain damage kills them."

Zoey sighed. "Tell us something we don't know..."

Bill turned the television off.

"T.V.'ll rot your brain anyway." Bill groaned.

**And thats all I got so far. I'll try to put alot more detail in the next installment. Hope you guys like it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Death or Glory

Chapter 4: I hate zombies

**Hey guys. It's a great day for writing, don'tcha think? Well, I've been trying to put some thought into this installment, unlike the last three chapters, which I swear I made up as I opened WordPad. But as I've said, I really hope you guys like it.**

"Start you piece of shit." A large, well-built man said to hopelessly to his motorcycle. He'd been trying to start it for fifthteen minutes now. He groaned. It looks like he would have to travel on foot from here on. He toke one last look at his ride, and walked into the night. This evening had turned from fun and entertaining to dreadful. He had heard growling and moaning, en masse, and gunfire. He wasn't the last man on Earth. He gripped his shotgun, and jogged down the sidewalk. Zombies were slowly wandering around the street, the man picking them off with his weapon. Eventually they turned to him, and began charging at him. The one to get closest met the butt of his shotgun. He cocked the gun, and fired into the already stunned zed. It fell back, as he cocked the gun again and continued to fire. The last of the creatures leaped a few feet at him, but he simply moved to the left and avoided the attack. He turned to him quickly and scratched at him, but the man grabbed its arm, and fired into it's chest.

It, like it's fellow undead, fell dead. The man grinned, and continued to walk.

"Huh. You're starting to feel a little light, girl." He referred to his shotgun, going into his pocket and grabbing a few shells. He placed them into the gun, cocked it, and continued his stroll. Suddenly, he heard a scream nearby, human scream. It came from behind him. He turned, and saw someone running in fear, firing behind him as a large zed with a one huge arm and one scrawny limp arm chasing him.

"Oh shit." The first man thought to himself, "Hey!" He called to the other man. The other man looked at him, but didn't stop running, for obvious reasons.

"For gods sake man..." He sprinted to the zombie and fired at the beast. The first shell was shrugged off, and now the infected directed his attention at the new blood. The man rolled to the right to avoid the beast's charge, cocked his gun again, and fired at its back. It moaned in pain from the shot to it's back. The man now knew it's weakspot, and let out a gigged.

"Hey!" He called to the other man again, "Shoot it's back! Thats it's weakspot!"

"Gotya man!" The other survivor replied, circling around the zed, firing his handgun at it's back. Both men fired into its back a few more times before it let out a death cry, and fell to the ground.

"Woo!" The second man sighed, "That was a close one. Thanks for the help." He walked over to the man who just saved his life. "I'm Louis." offering a hand.

The other man rose without the help.

"Francis."

"Well it's nice to meet you Francis."

Francis continued walking, ignoring Louis.

"Um... excuse me?" Louis asked in confusion.

"What do you want now?"

"You're just gonna keep walking, you don't want to me to ask if I could tag along?"

"Do whatever the hell you want, dude."

Louis sighed, and walked with him. There was a silence between the two for a while. Louis occasionally looked at Francis. He was obviously was some sort of biker. He was covered in tattoos. Black pants and a leather vests. He looked so weak compared to him, in his work clothes, dress shirt, ripped up, red tie.

"Mondays, huh?" Louis joked.

"Louis, right? Look, it's cool if you wanna chat and shit, but don't spout out stupid one-liners" Francis replied.

Louis could already tell they wouldn't get along very well. But it didn't matter. Because Francis was stuck with him. Louis, as he always did, was going to make the best of a bad situation. If he didn't stay positivem no one would.

The two walked for a few blocks, and they found something rather surprising. An apartment complex, door wide open, tons of zed dead and burnt. Francis tilted his head to the complex, Louis nodded. They walked slowly up the stairs, not wanting to alert any possible infected. Louis looked around the stair case, they were dirty and bloody. Not watching his footing, he tripped while lifting his foot and fell. Hitting his chin against of of the stairs, his hand flinched, pulling the trigger of his gun, making it fire a bullet into the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Zoey asked, responding to the gunshot.

Bill heard it aswell. He rose up from the couch.

"Come on, were checkin' it out." He answered with. Zoey nodded and followed him. Bill opened the door, and could hear two people arguing with one another.

_"Louis! What the hell!"_

_"Sorry! I tripped."_

"Survivors." Bill sighed in relief. Zoey grinned.

The two went down the hall, headed for the stairs, as they could tell it was coming from a lower floor. Bill's foot hitting the stairs alerted Francis.

"We've got company..." Francis whispered.

"Oh man..." Louis sighed.

Francis ran up the stairs, and as soon as he reached the top of the flight, he saw two figures he didn't recogonize. Without even thinking, he fired at them.

"Get down!" Bill yelled. Zoey, not wanting to make lip to lip contact to a buckshot, complied.

"Hey! Were not infected!" Zoey yelled, "Stopped shooting!"

Francis relaxed his stance. "Oh um... sorry about that." Francis said, embarrased. Louis finally reached the top of the stairs. 

"Francis!" Louis cried, "What the hell!"

"What? I thought they were infected." Francis shrugged.

Bill, angry, strided over to the survivor.

"You have some pair a balls, kid! You know that?" Bill yelled, "Not even checking to see what you were shooting at!"

"Oh, excuse me! I would have been doing you a favor, you're too old to be in this kind of warzone."

"Old! Now you listen to me you little chicken-"

"Bill!" Zoey cut him off, "Calm down. He made a mistake."

"Look, I'm really sorry about Francis." Louis said, trying to make up for Francis' mistake, "I'm Louis. Glad to see other survivors in this hellhole."

"Bill." Bill responded.

"Hi Louis," Zoey grinned happily,"My name is Zoey."

"If were done making buddy-buddy Louis, can we please get out of here?" Francis groaned.

"Francis, we found other people! And I think we should tag along with them... if thats alright with you guys."

"It's fine." Bill grunted, "So long as your friend knows who to shoot."

"Bite me, grandpa." Francis sneered. "Now listen up, cuz I'm only saying this once. I'm heading to downtown, I hear theres an evac zone there. You can come if you want, just stay out of my way."

"If it gets me out of here, I'll go with you, Francis." Zoey answered.

"I'll go too." Louis agreed.

Zoey and Louis looked at Bill for his answer. He took in a breath.

"Fine, I'll go too." Bill sighed.

"I'll enjoy your company." Francis replied.

"Well lets get going guys, we don't hurry, we may miss the evac." Louis grinned. The other three nodded, and headed for the stairs.

**And just like that, the original survivors are together! I plan on going back to the Savannah next chapter to go hear a story from my buddy Ellis about Keith. So please, leave a comment and tell me if you liked the story or not. I apprecieate the input, good or bad :P**


	5. Chapter 5

Death or Glory

Chapter 5: A sausage fest

**Finally getting some reviews, which is awesome. I'm glad to know people like my story. And this is only the beginning my friends. It only gets better from here.**

The man in the suit only got more and more frustrated as he continued to walk through the zombe infested streets of the Savannah. With each passing step he was consumed with more and more rage. He stopped for a second, and saw a bar. He could use a drink. He walked inside the dirty little drinking hole, and walked torwards the counter. He jumped over it to the bartenders side, looking for some liquid courage. Sadly though, all he could find was empty bottles and drips of booze.

"Well this is just perfect." He thought to himself.

He looked over to the graffiti on a nearby wall. These idiots were chatting via WALL. How clever. He skimmed through the writings, reading about things he already knew, or didn't care about.

"Who the hell is Chicago Ted?" He thought out loud.

The last one he was dumbfounded by. It took up most of the section.

ELLIS WAS HERE

"Great, I'm dealing with inbred zombie hicks!" He cried. He couldn't stand the idiocy any longer, it was time to go. He walked out of the bar again, and heard moaning in a deep tone. He turned to his right, and saw a strange infected. It was bloated, its stomach to large for the t-shirt it wore. The suit couldn't help but laugh at the poor bastard. The zed finally took notice of him, and waddled to him. The man simply walked away, didn't look like the thing could run. Suddenly, he felt cold, sticky liquid all over his back. It came from the infected, it was spewing it out like a sprinkler.

"Oh, it's all over the damn suit!" The survivor yelled, "You little shit!" He pointed his gun at the creature, and pulled the trigger, hitting him between the eyes. Suddenly, the infected burst like a balloon, releasing more of the goo it had already squirted, all over the place. A large amount of goo got the front side of his suit, and his face. He fell to the floor from the impact, he closed his eyes.

"Dammit!" He yelled, "I can't see shit!" He started to hear moaning all around him. Not wanting to stick around, he got up, and ran in a random direction. He could hear footsteps behind him. He tried to open his eyes, but everything was blurry and he couldn't classify anything.

"Hey Coach!" Ellis yelled to his companion.

"What is it, boy?" He responded with.

"Looky over here. Ya might wanna see this." Pointing behind them. They both saw a lone figure spouting out swear words as a few infected gave chase. Ellis, without saying a word, ran over to the new survivor.

"Ellis! The hell are you doing!" Coach yelled. Ellis didn't hear him, and kept running. He finally reached the new guy. He grabbed his arm. The suit, still unable to see friend or foe, pistolwhipped Ellis in confusion. Ellis grabbed his face and yelled. 

"OUCH!" Ellis cried, "Thad hurt man!"

The suit, confused asked

"Wait, who're you?"

"No time to explain. We gotta get movin' before were zombie chow!"

Ellis grabbed the suit again, and they both ran over to Coach. The man finally regained his vision, only to have his first site be some greasy hick grabbing his suit. Coach joined the two, running forward with them. Ellis and the man fired a few rounds into the few infected chasing them. At this point, more and more zed were joining the chase. 10 turned to 20, 20 turned to 45.

"Shit shit shit shit!" Ellis yelled.

Coach began to pant as the chase went on. He was growing tired. The man noticed this.

"Hey tubs! Keep up unless you wanna joined the lost and the damned!"

Coach already had a feeling he wasn't going to like this guy. The trio made a sharp left turn, finding themselves in a more suburban part of the area. Ellis and Coach knew the Savannah like the back of their hands, but the new guy had no clue where the hell he was going. He finally caught on when he say the city lines sign. The three continued to run in the road, as did the infected.

"I have a sinking feeling they won't be giving up anytime soon!" The man yelled as he fired his last bullet into the horde. He managed to actually kill one of the infected with that bullet, but that was going to be the only one.

"Where we gonna go Coach!" Ellis yelled to his teammate.

"I-I don't know!" Coach answered.

"Check it out!" The man pointed, "A gas station!" He meant the run-down little shack with some gas tanks. Wasn't anything special, but somewhere to hide. The windows were boarded, gas was leaking out of the tanks and the paint was dry, the place was closed down. Ellis was the first to run inside, followed by the man, and Coach.

"Grab something to block the door!" The man ordered. Not wanting to die, the two followed his order. Coach blocked the door as Ellis and the stranger looked for large objects to use. Ellis tried to push the soda cooler into infront of the door, but it was barely moving. The stranger saw him, and tried helping. Hands were hitting the glass door as it began to crack. Coach placed his crowbar inbetween the two doorknobs. The zed tried tried forcing the door open, but the crowbar stopped the effort. Coach ran to the others and joined them in pushing the cooler. They managed to get it in front of the door. They all let out a sigh. They were safe.. for now. Ellis began looking around the station for supplies, as Coach introduced himself to the new man.

"Hey. Names Coach."

"Huh. Curious to know the guy who you're gonna die with?"

"Just tryin' to be friendly."

"Fine, names Nick. What about you hick?" He called to Ellis.

Ellis gave Nick a mean look. "Names Ellis, nice to meet ya Nick."

"Wish I could say the same."

Ellis found a small storage area, though the door was locked.

"Huh. Good thing Keith taught me to master breakin' and enterin'." Ellis grinned. He kicked the door with all his might, forcing it open. When Ellis saw what was in the room, he laughed.

"Holy shit! It's Christmas!" Ellis yelled. Confused, the two men went over to see what Ellis was talking about. They were as shocked as he was. The room was stocked with supplies. Health packs, pistols, shotguns, rifles, some weird pipe things, and a few propane tanks. Nick laughed.

"Oh hell yes!"

Coach grabbed a shotgun. Ellis grabbed a several pistols, stuffing a one in each of his pockets, then grabbed a hunting rifle.

"Man, I wanted onea these when I was 9!"

Nick grabbed one of the propane tanks, and picked up a desert eagle and a few clips.

"Ya think theres a back enterance?" He asked. Ellis and Coach looked around, until Coach pointed out a fire exit.

"Convenient." Nick grinned. The three ran outside, only a few zed were in the back. Avoiding alerting the horde, they ran to the front, Nick still held the propane tank. He tossed it infront of one of the gas tanks. He aimed his pistol.

"We might wanna start running!" Nick yelled as he pulled the trigger. The bullet made contact with the tank, setting it ablaze, the fire went over to the gasoline, causing a great explosion. Nick put his arm infront of the his eyes, Ellis had already began running, Coach was stunned and didn't move. Both he and Nick were knocked over by the explosion, the sound deafining them. Zombie limbs falling from the sky, the smoke drowning the sky. Once it was all over, Nick rose slowly as gravel and limbs fell hit the ground. Coach got up aswell, seeing Ellis not too far away, on the ground covering his head.

"Ellis! It's over boy!" Coach called to him.

Ellis jumped up. "Damn that was so cool!" Ellis grinned.

"Cool? COOL!" Nick yelled, "Are you aware we not only were almost ripped to shreds, but almost just fucking exploded!"

"Yeah... well... almost, Mr. Nick." Ellis pointed out.

Nick slammed his head into his forehead. "Can we just go before I shoot the hick?"

Coach shrugged, and started walking. Ellis ran up to Coach and whispered.

"Hey Coach. Who's the hick? New kinda zombie?" Ellis asked.

The woman looked in disbelief at the smoke rising into the sky. The explostion she saw was incredible, and she was only at that gas station a few minutes ago. Looked like either the infected were playing with fire, or some survivors caused that boom. Either way, there was no way anyone could survive something like that. She sighed, and continued walking. It was getting dark, and she needed to find somewhere safe for the night. She came across an old, run down shack. It looked as if no one stepped foot in it for ages. She opened the door, and looked around. It was a living room and a small bathroom. A small bed in the corner, a bookshelf, a little fridge and a oven, and a desk. It was her home for the night. She checked the bathroom, and to her surprise, the water was still on. She could finally take a shower she so rightfully deserved.

"Hey guys! Check it out!" Ellis called to his friends, "I found a safehouse."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Nick retorted with, "Lets just get inside, my feet are killing me."

Coach nodded, and was the first (Or second) to step into the house.

"Damn, this is the nicest place I seen all day!" Coach chuckled.

"Dibs on the bed!" Ellis ran to the bed and flopped on it.

Nick sighed. He checked inside the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk, expired tomorrow. Good enough for him. He opened it and began chugging it.

"Hey!" Ellis moaned, "Quit hoggin'." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want some?" Nick asked, Ellis nodded, "Here ya go!" Nick poured the milk all over his head, grinning as he did it. Coach slapped Nick in the back of the head.

"Ellis. Bathrooms over there. Go clean up." Coach said to the youth.

"You're such a dick." Ellis said blankly to Nick.

"No no no, my dear redneck. I have a dick, unlike yourself." Nick retored.

Ellis stepped into the bathroom, removing his hat. Up until this point, he hadn't noticed the shower was on, and suddenly stopped. The door began to open, a woman came out of the shower.

Coach and Nick heard to screams come from the bathroom. They both ran to it, opened the door, to find Ellis running through the door and slid under the bed. A plunger flew through the door, hitting the bed.

"Come back here, you pervert!" The woman yelled, now wearing a towel.

"I'm sorry miss! I had no idea you were in d'ere." Ellis cowered.

The woman noticed the other two men beside her, and groaned. "Who the hell are you three!"

Coach was speechless, Nick on the other hand, thought he was going to die of laughter.

"You shoulda seen the look on your face, ya dumb hick!" He pointed at Ellis, still under the bed. Coach directed his attention to the woman.

"Miss, I'm terribly sorry for Ellis, he didn't know you were in there, honestly. My name is Coach, and this is Nick."

"So Ellis got to see you naked huh?" Nick asked, "Hey Ellie, looks like you can die a happy man!" He chuckled. Ellis didn't make a sound. The woman went back into the bathroom to grab her clothes. She locked the door this time. The men looked at one another in silence. Except in the case of Ellis, who no one could see.

"Well... at least it isn't a sausage fest anymore." Nick grinned.

Coach sighed and shook his head.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Man, have you seen her? Hell, have you seen ME? She'll only feel the sexual tension, and looking at my competition, Jabba the Hutt and Ellis the inbred, I think I have this one in the bag."

"You don't honestly think she's going to have sex with you, do you?"

"This place is gone to hell. What other option does she have?"

"I can HEAR you, you know!" The woman called from the other room.

"Fine by me." Nick said as he knocked on the door,"Just to let you know, I'm free whenever you want me baby."

"And I thought the one under the bed was a pervert." She said to herself.

After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed.

Coach was the first to speak to her.

"Look, I'm really sorry for what happened, but it was honestly an accident. Now, why don't you tell me your name so we can get aquainted.

"My names Rochelle." She grinned.

"Nice to meet you Rochelle, the three of us are on our way to Garden City to head to the evacuation zone, why don't you come along?"

"Sure, I suppose." She answered. "I was headed there anyway. Besides, theres strength in numbers."

"Well, we'll head out in the morning. We'll leave in the morning." Coach told his group. "Rochelle, as the lady, you get the bed."

"I apprecieate it Coach." Rochelle smiled warmly.

Nick slept in the shower. Coach was snoozing, head down on the desk. Rochelle layed in bed, unable to sleep. She started to gear noises under the bed. Ellis was crawling out slowly, trying not to wake anyone.

"Hey." Rochelle whispered to him. Ellis froze in place. "Ellis, right?"

Ellis nodded and gulped. "Yes ma'am."

"No need to call me ma'am. It makes me feel old." She grinned.

"Sorry ma... Rochelle." Ellis looked at the ground, "I'm really sorry 'bout the whole shower thing Rochelle. I just wanted ta clean up and... and..."

Rochelle tried not to laugh. He actually didn't mean it, he actually felt bad about it. He was like a little kid.

"Sweetie. It's OK. Really." Rochelle cut him off, "It was a mistake, right?"

Ellis nodded.

"Well as long as you didn't mean it, were fine." She grinned. He let out a small grin.

"Now why don't you get some sleep? You had a long day." 

"Sounds like a good idea ta me." Ellis laughed. He layed on the floor, and in a matter of minutes, was snooring. Rochelle wasn't mad anymore. She made some new friends. She had a feeling everything was going to be OK. She turned over and closed her eyes.

**Woo! This one took forever to type. But I love this one. Might be my favorite so far. So go ahead and leave some comments and tell me what you guys think. I'll write up the next chapter tomorrow.**


	6. Chapter 6

Death or Glory

Chapter 6: Fork in the road

Nick's eyes opened slowly. He couldn't believe he had to sleep in the bathroom. He got out of the tub, stretched for a moment, and looked in the mirror. He started pulling his greasy black hair back, as it got a tad messed up during his sleep. He eyed the corner of the mirror to where he could see what was going on in the other room. He saw Rochelle sleeping on the bed, lightly snoring. Ellis was on the floor, mumbling something in his sleep. What a goof. He couldn't see Coach though. He thought about what happened yesterday. Meeting the idiot brigade, almost getting mauled, almost blowing up, slept in a freaking tub.

_"I stick with these guys, I'm as good as dead." _Nick thought to himself. He entered the living room and looked at his sleeping comrades. He saw Coach, one arm on the desk, one limping in the air. Ellis was curled up in a ball. Rochelle started shaking. She was cold or something. Nick looked out the window, the sun wasn't even up yet. He supposed they could sleep for a few more hours. He actually enjoyed the silence. Not hearing Ellis talk red-neckanise, not listening to Coach scold him, and Rochelle... well he doesn't know what she does to annoy him yet, but when he finds out, he is so gonna hate her.

Nick looked at her one more time, she was still shaking.

"Aw hell.." Nick muttered. He removed his jacket, and put it on her like a blanket. Rochelle opened her eye a bit to see what Nick was doing. He wasn't trying to grab her. He put his jacket on her? He was being nice? She only knew him for a few hours, and she could already tell it was out of his character. She grinned, and went back to sleep. Nick walked back into the bathroom. He figured now would be a better time than ever for him to shower. No chance of Ellis coming in and looking for a show, he chuckled at what happened earlier.

The sun was starting to rise, had to be 3 am or so. Remember when Ellis was mumbling in his sleep? Lets see what little El was thinking about...

_Zombies were everywhere, big ones, small ones, weird looking midgets ones. A lone figure walked torwards the horde, it was the great kick-ass-zombie-killing-machine himself, Ellis! Ellis pulled the light-machine gun off his back._

_"Kill all sonsofbitches..." He said with a smirk before spraying into the crowd. Many zombies feel to the Ellis' bullets, some even ran away in fear of him. One zombie, with courage even Ellis respected, charged at the unstopable force. Ellis kicked it in the chin, knocking it a few feet in the air, Ellis then shot the zed with his gun seven times before it even hit the ground._

_"Woo-hoo!" He heard in the background. He turned to see Rochelle, Coach, and a small child in a blue and white suit cheering him on._

_"You can do it Ellis!" Rochelle cheered._

_"You make me so proud, Ellis!" Coach said._

_"You're my hero Ellis!" The child yelled._

_"Gee, thanks guys." Ellis smirked._

_Ellis' fun was cut short, as he heard a woman's cry for help. He dashed to where it was coming from, only to see a group of zombies attacking a beautiful young woman._

_"Oh no ya don't Ellis!" He said as he charged at them._

_He leaped in the air, spraying at the horde, watching them fall over one by one. While in the air, Ellis did two front flips before hitting the ground in front of the girl. He looked at her, the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her hair a lovely shade of brown, as her bangs hid her light blue eyes, which were as lovely as the ocean. She smiled at him. She was an angel._

_She was so happy, she gave him the greatest hug he'd ever had. _

_"Well Ellis, you seem to have a way with the ladies." A mysetrious figures said behind him. He turned._

_"Mr. Jimmy Gibbs Jr!" Ellis cried._

_"Yes Ellis, it's me. I'm here to tell you that you're so awesome, I want to adopt you. Ellis, would you like to be Ellis Gibbs?"_

_"Oh man!" Ellis said in happiness, "I met the prettiest girl in the world, I killed all the zombies, and now Jimmy Gibbs Jr wants ta adopt me!" He turned to the girl. "Wait... can you tell me your name?"_

_"Sure." She smiled. Even her voice was amazing, "It's ..."_

_"It's what?" Ellis asked in confusion._

_"..." She said again._

"Ellis!" Coach nudged Ellis again, "Get up boy, we gotta get moving."

Ellis' eyes opened wide.

"Wheres Jimmy Gibbs? And the girl?"

"Boy what're you talking about it?"

Ellis groaned. It was all just a dream. At least there were zombies to kill.

"Glad to see you're awake sweetie." Rochelle smiled at Ellis, "Nick wanted to leave without you." As the smile ran from her face and her eyes darted out Nick.

Nick pouted, "He'd be find, this kid is like a roach. He just won't die."

Ellis was on his feet again, ready to go.

"Alright gang." Coach said to his companions, "Lets get moving." He said as he walked through the door. Rochelle was next, followed by Ellis, then Nick. The streets were empty. Not a zombie in sight. That was a good thing. They walked for a while, the shack was out of sight. No one said anything. Ellis broke the silence.

"Say, I ever tell you guys about my buddy Keith?" He asked. Nick slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow! what was that for?"

"Nothing. You're just fun to hit." Nick replied, grinning.

"Nick, leave him alone." Rochelle said to him.

"Oh, sure. Defend him. Do you always get so protective of people who see you naked?" Nick asked. Rochelle stopped and gave Nick a mean look. Ellis looked down out the ground, and Coach just sighed.

"Nick. Shut up." Rochelle said calmly. He could tell he was working her up. He chuckled.

"And why should I do that, cupcake? It's a free wasteland. I can say whatever the hell I want. And theres nothing you can do to stop me."

Rochelle slapped Nick across the face.

Ellis' eyes opened wide when he saw this. Coach grabbed Rochelle's arm.

"You bitch!" Nick yelled, rubbing his cheek.

"I'm a bitch? I'm not the one that insults people for no reason!"

"Well you don't see me hitting people!"

"Some people deserve to be hit! Like you!"

"I'm not a kid!"

"You're sure as hell acting like one!"

Nick started to get angry. He took a step forward.

"Oh yeah! Ya wanna know what else kids do?" He cried. Before he could take another step, Ellis walked infront of the man.

"Outta my way you hick!"

"No." Ellis said coldly.

" I said move! Or I'll make you move!"

Ellis didn't say anything. He just looked at Nick.

"Nick!" Coach said with his booming voice, "I'll give ya till the count of 3 to calm down! 1... 2..."

"3!" Nick yelled and punched Ellis in the face. Ellis got knocked back, but bounced back and leaped on Nick. Coach let go of Rochelle and went to go break up the fight.

Ellis began punching Nikc in the face a few times. Nick spit in the eye he hit Ellis in, and while Ellis was distracted, he pushed Ellis off of him and grabbed Ellis. Coach grabbed Nick and tossed him off of Ellis. Rochelle ran over to Ellis to help him up.

Nick got up and looked at the others with disgust. She rubbed his nose, opened his mouth to say something, but Rochelle started talking first.

"Get out of here Nick!" She yelled, "I don't want to see you again."

"Rochelle!" Coach scolded her.

"No. I get it. Crystal clear." Nick said, "I have a better chance of living on my own. After all, I won't have to deal with an annoying hick!" He pointed at Ellis, "Some fat douche who likes to tell people what to do! Pointing at Coach, "And I'll especially not have to deal with some dumb bitch who can't take a joke."

Nick turned, and walked in the opposite direction. Rochelle looked at him as he walked away. Ellis got back on his feet, but was a little dizzy. Coach looked at the ground.

"C'mon." Coach said slowly, "Lets go." He walked away. Rochelle kept looking at Nick as he walked, Ellis stayed by her."

"I'm sorry Ro." Ellis said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I should be the one thats sorry." Rochelle said to him, giving him a hollow smile, "I hope he'll be OK.."

Ellis looked at Nick, who never looked back at them.

"I'll go get 'em." Ellis said simply. He ran after Nick. 

"Ellis! Wait!" Rochelle said loudly.

But it was to no avail. Ellis kept running, he wanted to right the wrong.

Coach walked over to Rochelle.

"What the hell is that boy doing?" Coach asked.

"I think he's trying to b a good friend." Rochelle answered.

"I think he likes you or somethin'."

"No. I don't think so."

Ellis was catching up to Nick.

"Nick!" Ellis yelled, "Nick! Wait up!"

Nick ignored him. He just kept walking. Ellis caught up to him, and stood infront of him.

"Did you want another black eye?" Nick asked.

"I don't wanna fight you Nick. I just wanna talk." Ellis said calmly.

"Theres nothing to talk about. You guys don't want me there. I'm doing you a favor."

"Nick-"

The chit-chat was cut short by a loud rumbling coming from behind them. A large figure in the distance was charging at them.

"Ellis..." Nick said awestruck. 

"Yeah...?" Ellis answered.

"What the hell is that?" He pointed to the figure coming at them.

"Somethin' I plan on running from."

"Agreed."

The two turned and ran as fast as they could. They ran to Coach and Rochelle, she smiled at.

"Ellis! You got him back!" But the two ran past them.

"Run!" Nick yelled.

Coach and Rochelle turned to see the huge zed chasing them. Its arms as big as tree trunks. It didn't have a jaw, it's tougne stuck out. Rochelle and Coach ran as well. Coach let out a loud scream, running as fast as he could. the four fired at the creature, who simply shrugged off the rain of bullets. It was so slowly catching up to them.

"How do we stop this thing!" Ellis yelled.

"I have no fucking idea! You think of something!" Nick yelled.

"Fine!" Ellis answered. Ellis stopped. The other three kept running.

"Now what the hell is he doing?" Rochelle yelled.

Ellis cocked his shotgun, and aimed at the beast. It came closer and closer. He didn't fire. It was about 15 feet away. He twitched. It was right infront of him. It raised it's arm to hit him with it. Ellis shot it in the face. The beast fell back, blinded by the blast. he cocked the gun again. He pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

"Aw crap..." Ellis muttered. The beast let out a huge roar. Ellis grabbed the pistols out of his handguns and started firing at the beast.

"Guys! C'mon!" Ellis yelled. But the beast hit Ellis, sending him flying. The other three ran to help, but Ellis flew into Coach, knocking them both over. Nick and Rochelle start firing at it, it fell back trying to recover.

"Get up boy!" Coach yelled.

"I'm tryin'! I swear I'm tryin'! Ellis groaned. He was hurt. Coach picked him up and placed him on the ground and ran to the others to help. Coach fired at the big beast. It was near death. It was trying to stand up, but it could barely stand. Nick cocked his gun one last time, amd fired in its chest. It fell back, and died.

"Woo! I can't believe we just did that!" Nick laughed.

Rochelle ran up and hugged him. He froze for a second. She was so warm. He hugged her, for what felt like forever. Maybe he didn't have to hate after all. Coach walked over to Ellis. He layed in the sun like it was his day off. Coach removed his health pack and grabbed some bandages.

"Where does it hurt?" Coach asked.

Ellis pointed to his ribs.

"All right, were gonna have to take that shirt off boy." Coach said, as Ellis raised his arms in the air, as Coach helped take the shirt off. Nick and Rochelle walked over to the two as Coach began wrapping the bandages around him.

"Ya know, for some weird reason... I feel better." Ellis grinned.

He got up with Coach's help. Ellis looked at Nick.

"Yer gonna stay with us, right?"

Nick looked at him for second, and then looked at Coach and Rochelle.

"Yeah buddy. I'll stay." Nick said.

Ellis grinned.

"Well what are we waitin' for? Lets get to the city!"

The other three agreed, and they walked. The four stayed quiet, reflecting over what had just happened.

_"Is this boy out of his damn mind?" _Rochelle thought to herself. _"Why would he just charge at that thing? Is he trying to get himself killed? And Nick. I just don't get him, does he hate us or something? As for Coach... he's alright. I think he makes a good leader._

_"Ugh, looks like I'm stuck with these three."_ Nick thought, _"I do have to give them credit though, Ellis took that punch to the face like a champ. And Coach is pretty good at barking orders. And Rochelle... ugh, nevermind."_

_"How did I get stuck with these three?" _Coach thought to himself and chuckled. _"Well, they aren't that bad. They just gotta learn ta listen better. Thats all. I better keep these kids alive. Don't want them to get eaten or some shit..."_

_"I now pronounce you man and wife!" Reverand Jimmy Gibbs Jr said to Ellis and his dream girl. The girl blushed. They kissed. Ellis looked around him. Coach was the best man, Rochelle the maid of honor, and the child-Nick, who was now a grown version, was the ring bearer. He picked the girl up, and carried her to his truck. He placed her in shotgun, and he slid on the hood to get to the other side. He got in, grinned at her, and started the engine. The truck started moving, hitting every zombie in the road._

Ellis started snoring as Coach and Nick carried him.

"Man, this guy is like a 5 year old..." Nick said.

"Yeah, well, he's OUR five year old, so get used to him." Rochelle grinned.

Nick sighed, and they continued walking.

**Another chapter comes to close. Man this is going good. Thanks for the comments so far are all postitive, which is great. So please, leave a comment, tell me what you think, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

Death or Glory

Chapter 7: Run! Don't walk!

**Hey guys. Updating as often as possible. I just love doing this I guess. Were going back to original L4D cast. I believe I'll work it like so. 2 chapters focus on one cast, two focus on the other. I'm planning on writing the story in real time, so if the L4D 1 cast is busy doing something and you're reading about it, L4D 2 cast will be doing their own things. Doing this mostly so I don't have to write every single campaign. Mostly because I wanna get this outta of the way and start working on The sacrafice and The passing. But enough of that. Back to the chapter.**

The four walked down the street slowly, inspecting every inch of the area they were manuvering in. Bill took the front, having Zoey and Louis follow right behind him, and Francis in the back.

"We'll never get anywhere at this rate." Francis sighed.

"Would you rather run as fast as you can and possibly draw attention to ourselves?" Bill replied bitterly.

"I hate running... I guess we can just walk..." Francis agreed.

As they walked, they began to notice cars parked in the middle of the street. Bill stopped them the others.

"OK, nobody touch any of the cars. Got it?" He asked.

The others nodded in agreement. They walked around car after car, careful not to touch any of them. Zoey stopped. She thought she heard something. She looked around for a moment. Must have just been her imagination. Louis grabbed his pistol, looking around insecurly. Francis just kept his eyes forward, focused on getting through the cars.

Zoey heard the noise again.

"You guys hear that, right?" She asked.

"I don't hear anything." Louis answered.

"Nope." Francis shrugged.

"I didn't hear anything either, but keep on your toes." Bill ordered.

The noise was getting louder. It was a person, or more than likely, an infected. The others began to hear it now. Footsteps followed by the sound of some heavy breathing. Louis turned, a heavy zombie followed them. Once he saw the survivors had noticed it, it released its gooey liquid at them. Louis was hit head on, flying back. Francis and Zoey were sprayed in the back, getting knocked over. Louis fly into a car, starting the alarm.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Bill yelled, trying to have a shouting contest with the alarm. He shot at the zed, causing it to explode, causing goo and body parts, to fly around, hitting cars, starting more alarms. Francis got up, followed by Zoey.

"Thats... not a... good sounds." Zoey muttered. They heard growling and anger all around them. The horde was coming. The survivors weren't sure where to go. They finally saw some of the zombies coming from infront of them.

"Run or shoot?" Louis asked.

No answer.

"RUN OR SHOOT!"

"Both!" Zoey yelled. They turned and ran as fast as they could, the horde behind them. They fired as much as they could, but there were too many. They couldn't keep this up. They needed to hide.

"Run to that building!" Bill yelled, pointing at a the three story building dead ahead. This caused the survivors to run even faster. Louis was the first to reach the door, he opened it wide, letting the others run in as he fired at that horde. As all four ran in, Francis slammed the door. This was their chance to catch their breath. Zoey slid against the wall, sitting on the floor. Louis spoke to Bill about what their next move would be, as Francis guarded the door.

"Alright, Louis and I are going to explore this place to see if its safe for the night. You two stay here." Bill commanded, and left with Louis. Zoey let out a low sigh. She closed her eyes, and dozed off. Francis groaned. Some of infected have given up and began to fall back. Francis stepped away from the door, and relaxed himself for a moment.

Louis and Bill walked through the halls of the building. All was quiet. But the silence was broken, by a distant sound... almost like crying. They walked, the sound only getting louder and louder, until they found the room where sound was made. They opened the door slowly. Bill walked in first, and was shocked by what he say. A girl, crying in the center of the room. Her hair a snow white, as it ran down her face. Her skin, pale, almost like if she had spent the majority of her life in a cave. She hugged her knees and hid her face in her legs. Louis walked in, also surprised. He walked over to the girl. He turned the flashlight of on his gun on to get a better look at her.

"Louis!" Bill whispered. But it was too late. He shined the light on her. She looked at him, her eyes a blood-like red, he saw her hands, a bloody pair of claws where her hands should be. She rose quickly, and yelled, exposing her fangs. Louis yelled. She charged at him, he jumped out of the way, using his arms to block his face as he hit the floor.

"WITCH!" Bill yelled. She clawed at him, Bill dodged the brunt of the attack, but his cheek was scratched by the tip of her claws. Louis fired his clip into her back. She turned back to him, unsure of who to kill first. She let out a bloody cry.

The cry woke Zoey, and Francis heard it too.

"That can't be good." Francis stated the obvious. The two ran to the hallway where Louis and Bill went. Bill fired at the Witch, she blocked most of the bullets with her arms, some hitting her face. It didn't seem to hurt her. She leapt at him, he barely moved out of the way, she went through the doorframe, landing in the hallway. Zoey and Francis saw her.

"What the hell is that!" Zoey yelled.

"The hell if I know! I'm just gonna shoot it!" Francis cried, firing his shotgun at her. Some bullets hit her, directing her attention at the two new survivors. Zoey began firing at her as well. It charged at them. It tackled Francis to the ground, causing him to drop his shotgun. Zoey, without a second thought, picked it up, and fired at her back, causing the Witch to cry in pain. Bill and Louis ran into the hallway, firing at her upon seeing her. The Witch leaped off of Francis, not sure who to attack. Zoey pointed the gun at her temple, and fired. The Witch hit the wall, her head bleeding. It was dead. The three looked at Francis, who had a few scratches on his vest and arms.

"I hate little bitches..." Francis muttered. Bill helped him up.

"Note to self:" Louis thought out-loud, "Do NOT mess with the crying girl."

The four walked back to the main room, exhausted. Zoey went back to her spot, and closed her eyes, and in a matter of minutes, she was asleep again. The other three chatted quietly as not to wake her.

"How we gonna do this?" Francis asked.

"Three of us'll sleep, while one stays up and keeps watch." Bill said aloud, "After a few hours, they'll wake someone up, and then they'll keep watch."

Louis nodded. Francis shrugged.

"So who takes the first watch?" Louis asked.

"I'll do it." Bill said, "You two get some shut eye."

The others agreed. Louis walked to the other side of the room, sat, and closed his eyes. Francis walked to a corner of the room, but continued to stand.

"Hey old man?" Francis asked.

"Yeah?"

"You did good today, leading us and all."

Bill was quiet, but smiled. Francis sat, and like the others, and closed his eyes.

Bill sat near the door, fiddling with his M-16. He looked up, and sat back for a moment. He looked at his new friends. They weren't the best looking bunch he'd ever seen, but they were all he had. Then again, he'd never been in a situation like this before. What with the undead attacking him and all.

He sat for a few hours, just thinking. His eyes just started to get heavy. He walked over to Zoey and nudged her a few times.

"Zoey..." Bill whispered. He nudged her again. Her eyes opened slowly, she looked at Bill.

"Time to wake up kiddo. Your turn to watch the door."

Zoey got up, and let Bill take her sleeping spot. He looked out the door window, the moon was up, crescent. She let out a loud sigh, and continued her watch. She wondered if things would ever go back to normal. Well, probably not, considering at least half the population were flesh eating zombies. So chances are... no.

The morning came, the sun rose and the survivors got up. Louis got up first, then Bill, then Francis about 15 minutes later.

"Great..." Zoey smiled, "Can we go now?"

The others nodded in agreement, and they all headed out into the unknown.

**This chapter is short compared to the last ones, but I had a few things on my mind, so I found it hard to focus. Don't worry, I'll be posting the next chapter shortly. Please leave a comment, telling me what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

Death or Glory

**Guys, I've been having serious writers block lately. I find it so much easier to write with the L4D 2 cast for some reason lol. But I will continue to write for both. I'd really like some input guys. But I hope you enjoy the next installment. I really want this to be good. But I think I'm such a crappy writer :P**

**Regardless, heres the next installment, I've held it off for too long anyway.**

Episode 8: Into the abyss

Blood covered the building walls. Body parts decorated the street. The sound of moaning and cries for help flooded the city and it's inhabitants. The four inspected every corner of the street, as to avoid any ambuses. It was far too quiet.

"Maybe all the zombies are taking a nap?" Francis said jokingly.

The others ignored his sarcasm. They found it odd he managed to keep such a level head in the situation. Both Zoey and Louis were scared out of their minds. Neither of them had ever seen a day of combat, or seen anyone in real life actually die. It was an eerie feeling to live in such a hellish environment. Bill, on the otherhand, was used to it. He'd seen the nightmare war and death was. Watching his squad be blown away by enemy fire, having to keep guard in the trenches and his friends slept. He took the last drag of his cigarette and tossed it aside. He reached into his coat pocket for another one, he opened his pack, to find he smoked the last one.

"Dammit!" Bill grunted.

"Whats the matter old man?" Francis asked, "Back hurting?"

"Don't be an ass Francis!" Bill replied.

"Whats up Bill?" Louis asked out of curiousity.

"Just smoked my last stress reliver."

"We can find some more." Zoey grinned, "Last thing we want is you going crazy from stress."

"Yeah, you might kill Francis." Louis chuckled.

"Hey!" Francis said, annoyed, "I could handle a postal old man."

"Relax boys." Zoey said to calm the situation, "Lets get Bill some cancer sticks and get out of here."

The others nodded in agreement, except Francis, who mostly groaned, and looked around for a gas station.

"There was one on the edge of town, were headed there anyway." Louis pointed out, "We won't have to go out of their way."

"Fine by me." Bill smirked.

They enjoyed the calm. It was almost like a quiet walk... with guns. Regardless of the silence, all but Francis kept their guard up. He simply walked, balancing his shotgun on his shoulder. He hummed a tune.

"Any particular reason your so relaxed Francis?" Zoey asked.

"We aren't fighting zombies for once, things are nice. Just enjoying it while it lasts."

Zoey scowled at the comment. How could someone relax at a time like this? It was so odd. She didn't think about it for too long. Their footsteps only seemed louder the longer they traveled. Louis wondered where all the infected were. There was no way they were all hiding. Maybe they were hunting other survivors. He remembered the horde from last night. A large group like that doesn't just go away.

_"Heheheheheh!"_ Was heard in the distance. It scared Francis.

"W-what the hell was that!" Francis asked, surprised.

"Whatever it is, they sure find death funny." Bill answered.

Louis looked up, and saw a figure on the roof. A hunter? It stared at them, not attacking.

"Guys!" Louis whisperd. The three turned. "Up there." He pointed to the figure.

They looked, seeing it as well.

"A survivor?" Zoey asked.

"Maybe." Bill responded with, "Just ignore 'em, maybe they haven't noticed us yet."

_The others complied, and followed the leader. The figure followed them, leaping over buildings. They didn't pay attention to it. Hours passed. The survivors took the time to get to know one another. Zoey was a college girl, flunking most of her classes to watch old horror movies. Louis was the manager of an electronics department. He went to work everyday for two weeks after patient zero was infected. He was commited to his job, and had no idea what he would do now. Francis was a biker, spent most of his time in bars, and pretending to be a cop. He stole a T.V. and was caught, but fled. Had the infection never happened, he'd be rotting in a cell for his sins._

_Bill was a soldier. He spent his entire life planning on fighting in a war, as his father before him. He served in Vietnam, and lost his closest friend from a banzai attack. They bled in his arms, Bill had one last conversation with him._

"Bill..." Zoey said quietly, "I'm so sorry."

Louis looked down to the ground. Franic looked up to the sky, no snappy remark, no sarcasm. Bill ignored them. He didn't like talking about his past.

_"I should be dead..." Bill thought, "It should have been me.."_

_"B-Bill..." Richard looked at him, with eyes full of fear, "What happened...?"_

_Bill grabbed him, and looked at the knife wound in his stomach. He was pouring blood. His rifle lay on the floor, covered in the mud. His legs motionless, his arms limped to his side._

_"Wh... what happened?" He asked again._

_"I'm... so sorry Richy.." Bill said, his voice cracking, he held back the tears._

_Richard slowly lifted his arm to his chest, and slowly grabbed his dogtags. He pulled them off, and handed them to Bill._

_"Take good care of 'em.." He coughed._

_"I don't want them, you'll want to look at them when we get back."_

_"Look at me, Bill. I'm going back."  
><em> 

_"You will! It'll all be alright."_

_Bullets flew through the air, screaming all around. They were buried in the trench. Tears rolled down both their faces._

_"It shoulda been me! You didn't desevre it!"_

_Richard chuckled. "You were the best of us. Went through... through basic training like it was nothing, barked orders better than Sarge, god bless his soul. You need to survive this."_

_"Richy..."_

_"You were always my best frie..." Richard stopped, no longer breathing._

_"Richy! Don't leave me you bastard! Not yet!" Bill yelled, "... Please..."_

Bill looked up. He straightened his beret, and looked forward again. The others all looked at Bill with concern.

"Hey." Bill broke the silence, "Enough with the dead air already! You guys are killing me!" 

Zoey sighed. Louis smiled. Francis... well... he was being Francis.

Mid-afternoon. Still not one infected sighting. It was almost... boring. The figure still followed them, as if waiting for the right moment. Louis looked back to it from time to time. His spine shivered at that thought of being stalked like this.

"Hey fearless leader!" Francis called, "We've been walking all day, how about we take a break?"

"Where did you have in mind?" Bill asked. 

"How 'bout..." Francis pointed to his left, opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. He turned. Infected. Dozens, behind them. They ran to them, hungry.

"Guys!" Francis yelled, "We got some problems!" He aimed at them, and fired off. The others shot back as well, and began to sprint.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Louis screamed.

"C'mon! C'mon! We gotta move!" Bill yelled, firing into the horde. Few fell, but too many gave chase.

"Can we please go one day without having to run in terror?" Zoey screamed while reloading.

A hunter leapt from the crowd and almost flew through the air, heading for Bill.

"Hunter!" Francis yelled. He fired at the beast, but his shotgun had shit accuracy. Bill turned and stopped, staring at the Hunter.

"C'mon you sonofabitch!" Bill cried, "Make my day!"

The Hunter reached for him, Bill cocked his gun back, and swung it like a bat, hitting the Hunter in the nose, causing its head to knock back then hit the ground. He aimed his rifle at the back of it's head, and fired. Infected came close to him, the first one to reach him met was kicked in the shoulder with his boot, and met one of Bill's bullets between the eyes. Francis ran over to Bill and grabbed his arm.

"C'mon old man! We don't have time for a Nam flashback!" He ran, holding onto Bill, who followed, while still shooting. Louis was in front, not even shooting. He was stopped by a force grabbing his chest.

"SMOKER!" Louis yelled. He was lifted in the air by the Smoker who in a nearby apartment building. Zoey shot at the Smoker, but there wasn't enough room to hit. She had another idea. She shot at the tougne, and after a few shots, she made the hit. The Smoker let out a cry, and took its tougne back in, releasing Louis. She helped him back up.

"Fight threw the pain!" Zoey yelled.

"Francis! Lemme go dammit!" Bill yelled at him. 

"So you can get yourself killed! How about no!"

Bill slipped out of his grip and turned to get full sight of the demons.

"We don't have time for this shit!" Francis yelled, grabbing at Bill again. Bill ran into the horde.

"What the hell is he doing!" Zoey yelled.

"Losing his damn mind! And his life!" Francis yelled while following Bill.

Bill was being flooded, being scratched left and right. He fired blindly, swinging his gun widly. Zed fell. They ran their focus on Bill alone, ignoring the others. Francis fired into the horde, hitting many at a time. The figure on the roof leapt downward, landing on Francis' back.

"What the hell?" Francis yelled.

It began scratching and pulling at him, trying to manuever him deeper into the horde.

"This bitch is trying to ride me! Shoot it!"

Louis shot at it, hitting it in the back. One shot, one kill. It fell off, and Francis looked down at it. A smirk was left on it's face. He stomped on it's face, and returned to rescue mission. Bill was tearing through the crowd. Suddenly, something began ripping through the zed. A Charger, heading for Bill.

"I'm ready! How 'bout you?" He yelled, firing at the monster. He swiped at him, he swept back, hitting the ground. He heard something crack as he hit the ground, and couldn't move.

"Sh-shit!" Bill cried. The beast was swarmed by bullets.

"Get offa him!" Zoey yelled, spraying into the infected. It fell back for a moment, giving Francis the time to run to Bill and fire point-blank at it. It fell to its back, Francis grabbed Bill and dragged him down the street to the others.

"I hate you Bill." Francis groaned as Bill continued to spray into the remaining zed. Zoey and Louis joined him as the infected count grew smaller and smaller. The last one hit the ground, breathing it's last un-living breath. The four stopped to breath. Bill got up slowly. Zoey gave Bill a mean look.

"What the hell Bill?" Zoey scolded him, "Did you want to die?"

"Almost." Bill thought, but said nothing. He walked ahead.

"It's been a long day, lets find a safe house and rest for awhile."

They found a small house they seemed good. Francis inspected the place. It belonged to a family with some kids. The house was empty. He hoped they got out there OK. Louis helped Bill to the master bedroom as Francis sat at the kitchen table. Zoey looked around the children's room. The family wasn't well off. The rooms were small, the furniture cheap. She found the children's toybox. Inside were a few toy cars, some action and figures and an old doll. She recognized the doll from her childhood. It was a nothing special doll, arms ripped, it's fabric worn. One of the eyes was missing. Some of the red strands of hair were cut. It was an old raggidy Ann doll. She hugged it as her back was to the toychest.

Louis sat in the living room and found a copy of War and Peace on a nearby bookshelf. He began skimming through.

"The hell are you doing Louis?" Francis asked.

"Trying to catch up on my reading."

"What a waste of time. We don't need books anymore."

Louis grunted, and went back to the book.

Bill layed in the bed, looking at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry Richy." Bill said to himself for the millionth time, "I thought I'd get to see you and April again." He closed his eyes. "But I have to keep these three alive. I'll see you soon. I promise."

**And another chapter comes to a close. I gave Zoey more personality, and Bill some backstory. I was curious to know what character you guys think I'm best with. Leave a comment and tell you what you think. Until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

Death or Glory

**Hey again guys. It's time for another installment of Death or Glory! I figure I'll take care of a few things in this foreward. I'll say this, I have barely touched the original Left 4 Dead, but I have read The Sacrafice comic book. So I apologize if my writing for the original survivors isn't quite up to par. My favorite character... Ellis. Sounds kind of obvious, almost everybody loves Ellis. But he's just so damn... awesome. I like his character traits. And I find that I write as his the best. Second probably being Francis or Nick. I love their personalities, and theres gonna be so much tension when fluff is introduced xD. And on that note, I'll get you started on this installment.**

Chapter 9: Through the fire and the flames

"Damn!" Nick moaned as he continued to care the sleeping Ellis, "The hell does this kid eat?"

"Nick." Coach chuckled, "You need to get in shape, that boys a lightweight. Imagine if that was me."

"Thisa been you, I would have left you for the vultures." Nick laughed.

Rochelle sighed. Boys will be boys she supposed. They walked down the road for what seemed to be hours. If Rochelle squinted hard, she could see the dead tank in the distance. Rochelle raised her arms to stretch. It was nice to have a walk without being attacked.

"Boy! What I woundn't give for a triple stacked cheeseburger right now." Coach said as he rubbed his stomach.

"I guess you really want to fit in that XXXX-L you bought, huh?" Nick mused. Coach sneered at him. Coach turned a head, he saw a few houses in the distance.

"You guys see that right?" Coach asked, "Or am I just seeing things?"

"It looks like a little community..." Rochelle looked as well.

"Out here? No way." Nick shrugged.

The three, curious, continued walking torwards the buildings. As they got closer, they began to see figures in the distance. At first they thought they were infected, but as they got closer, they saw their stances and interaction with the world was human-like.

"Survivors!" Nick yelled, almost dropping Ellis.

Rochelle and Coach jogged torwards the buildings, as Nick tried to keep up.

"Hey Coach! How about you carry twittle-dum!" Nick groaned.

"Hello over there!" One of the figures called out, a mans voice.

"Yes hello!" Coach yelled back, "We have a man down! Please help!"

They reached the buildings and walked by a tall boy. He wore a baseball cap with no logo, and black hoodie and ripped jeans, a teenager. He towered over Nick and Ellis and was a little taller than Coach. He didn't acknowledge them and continued walking. They reached an adult, a short blonde haired man.

"Hello there." He grinned.

Nick already didn't like him.

"Hi." Coach began, "I'm Coach, this is Nick, Rochelle, and the sleeping boy is named Ellis. We've been traveling for hours, do you have anywhere we could stay for the night?"

"Of course. But if you want to stay, you'll have to earn your keep."

"Our keep?" Nick raised his eyebrow.

"Yes. The men will go out every morning and look for food, the woman will stay and watch the children."

"Children?" Rochelle asked, surprised.

"Who died and made you king?" Nick walked torwards the man, dropping Ellis, who hit the ground with a loud thud.

"It's not my call." The man stated, "If you have a problem, talk to Bertram."

"Sounds like a douche."

"He isn't. He's the one keeping us alive."

"Whatever. Can you spare a bed for our friend here?"

"Fine. Follow me. I'll lead you to the barracks." The man walked away, the three followed him, this time, Coach carrying Ellis.

The barracks were in the center of the largest building in the community, full of sleeping bags and small beds. They saw about half dozen people sleeping there, two or three keeping guard.

"This is one of the spares." The man pointed at a ripped up sleeping bag, "Place him here."

Coach placed the boy on the bed.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kevin. If you would be so kind, I'd like all of your weapons and ammo. Better safe then sorry, right." Nick didn't agree at first, but Coach and Rochelle gave him a sinscere look, and Nick removed his weapons along with the others, and gave them to Kevin. Rochelle removed Ellis' guns, except the pitols in his pockets, which she didn't see, and handed them to Kevin. Kevin grinned, and walked away from the three.

"You two go with him, I'll stay with Ellis." Rochelle sighed. Not wanting to argue, the two agreed.

Kevin gave the two a tour of the buildings, they had a school, a mess hall, an armory, and a small bar.

"Booze!" Nick grinned. He strided over to the bar and walked in. Coach groaned.

"He seems... nice." Kevin said sarcastically.

"You get used to him. And I've only been dealing with him for a few days." Coach answered.

Nick walked into the bar, and sat on a stool. He eyed the bartender, and banged his head against the counter. The bartender was a gruff, tall, dirty man. Combover, rugged beard.

"What?" The man asked him.

Slightly intimdated, Nick stopped looking.

"V-vodka. On the rocks." He murmered.

"Sure. After you tell me what chores you preformed today..."

"What? I just got here!"

"No work, no juice."

Nick rose from his stool, the others sitting in the bar eyed him.

"You listen to me you dirty bum. I just spent the last 3 days with idiots, fought off hordes of zombies, slept in a tub, and had to carry an inbred hick two and a half miles. I've EARNED a shot of vodka!"

The bartender groaned.

"Look. I get times are hard and all, but these are direct orders from Bertram himself. You have to earn some luxury. So either get some work done and calm the fuck down, or get the hell out of here."

Nick scoffed out of the bar, mumbling to himself.

Rochelle looked at Ellis as she sat on the floor. He looked like a kid. If it weren't for all the blood on his clothes, he'd almost look innocent. Ellis began to stir.

"Uh-hhh..." Ellis opened his eyes slowly.

"Back from the dead I see." Rochelle grinned.

"W...where are we?" Ellis asked.

"Not really sure. We found some survivors though, this little community. Nick and Coach are taking a tour of the place."

Ellis sat up and looked around, he noticed a few sleeping women and men, and a few armed guards.

"You sure we ain't in prison Ro?"

Coach and Kevin continued through the little town. Coach looked around, people on the rooftops, playing with cheap toys. It was... nice. Coach let out a small grin as they walked by the children.

"And here we have it." Kevin stopped in front of a small building, "Bertram's quarters."

"He gets his own place, while we sleep in that crap hole?" Coach said annoyed.

"He's earned it Coach." Kevin looked at him in disbelief, "If he hadn't been for Bertram, this place wouldn't exist."

"But there sending choppers in Garden City, we could all go and get rescued."

"Coach! Don't you see. This place is secure. People who come, never leave."

"That nice, huh?"

"Of course, three meals a day. A place to sleep. It's paradise compared to most places in Georgia."

Coach shrugged. Kevin was right. This may be the only civilization left in the Savannah.

"We'll stay here for a while I guess. But if only for a few days. It's fine if you and the others want to stay here, but me and my friends want to get out of here."

"As you wish." Kevin said, turning his head, "I must be going now. Enjoy your stay here." Kevin walked away. Coach stared at him as he walked away, never looking back.

"See... see ya around I guess..." Coach turned and went looking for the others.

Ellis and Rochelle sat chatting for a few minutes, but were approached by a man with hunting rifle.

"Excuse me sir and ma'am." He interruptted, "What are you two doing?"

"Just talking. Can we help you?" Rochelle answered polietly.

"Ma'am, you should be with the children. And sir, you should be on guard duty, as you both seem well rested."

"Mister," Ellis began, "I literally woke up not five minutes ago, I have no idea where I am."

The man poked Ellis with his rifle.

"Sir, that isn't needed." Rochelle pointed out.

Ellis was getting annoyed and stood up.

"The armory is down the street on your first left. Grab a weapon and begin patrol. Your shift is over at nightfall."

Ellis looked at Rochelle, who gave him the: Don't do what you're thinking eyes. Ellis nodded.

"Yessir." Ellis said to the man, and went on his way.

"Um... sir," Rochelle asked the guard, "Where are the children?"

"The school. Building to the right. Get over there ASAP."

Rochelle got up and walked away.

Nick sat, his back against the wall of the barracks. He hadn't had a drink in like... 4 days. Stupid zombies. He closed his eyes, and let his mind drift for a moment. His thoughts were cut short, when a small ball hit him in the face. He broke his concentraion and looked around, spotting three small children looking at him. He looked at them, and gave them a mean look. Two of them looked away, one continued to look at him, he was the leader. His hair was long and wet, covering his green eyes. He wore a ripped up black shirt with a skull on it and jean shorts. He must have been 8. He walked over to Nick and plucked the ball from in front of Nick. He looked up at Nick.

"What are you looking at squirt?" Nick sneered.

"Nothin' worth 'membering sir." The kid scoffed.

Before Nick could respond, someone called his name, he turned, it was Ellis. He was walking by. He stopped when he reached his friend.

"Hey Nick. Nice place huh?" Ellis grinned.

"Not even a little Ellis."

Ellis looked at the kid, and grinned. The child spit at him, it landing on his shirt. Ellis took a breath.

"Who's ya friend Nick?" Ellis huffed.

"He isn't my friend. He's just some annoying brat."

"And you're jus' some annoying twat." The kid said angerly.

Nick flicked his forehead, the kid stepped back and began rubbing the spot.

"You cock sucka!" The kid yelled and ran back to his friends.

Ellis and Nick looked at the kid in disbelief.

"The mouth on kids these days." Ellis chuckled, wiping his shirt.

"Some kids need a beating. He's one of them."

"Well, it's about time for ma watch, I'll see ya later Nick." Ellis walked away.

"Watch?" Nick thought to himself, watching him walk away. He shrugged and walked away. Nick kicked the dirt as he walked. This place sucked. He needed to find the others and get out of here.

Rochelle walked to the school and saw a few children played around nearby. She saw a few women chatting with one another in front of the kids. She walked over to the women.

"Hi. I'm Rochelle." She said smilied.

The three women looked at her for a moment, and went back to their chatter. The three women all wore large shirts that didn't fit them and dresses. Rochelle looked back for a moment, and looked back at the girls. 

"Um... hello?" Rochelle said again.

The women ignored her this time. Rochelle, trying not to get annoyed, walked over to the children. The children all stopped and looked at her as she approached.

"Hi there. My name is Rochelle." She smiled, "It's nice to meet you all."

The children all looked at her. None saying a word. Were the people here deaf?

"Hey Rochelle!" Nick yelled, seeing her.

She turned and walked to the suit.

"Man, this place is so weird. No ones has said a word to me." Rochelle groaned.

"Tell me about it. They won't give me a drink. And some brat challenged me. I hate this place." Nick pouted.

She patted his head.

"You seen Coach or Ellis?" 

"Yeah, I saw Ellis walking over to start his 'watch' or something. I ditched Coach and whats-his-name."

Nick noticed the women looking at him and Rochelle.

"Who the hell are they?" Nick thought aloud.

"Those are the women who ignored me."

"Is that a fact?" Nick asked. Before she could answer, he walked over to them.

The three women's eyes got larger as Nick walked torwards them.

"Hello ladies. My name is Nick. I wanted to ask the three of you a question."

The middle woman spoke. 

"What... is that?" She asked.

"You see my friend over there?" Pointing at Rochelle, "I'm curious to know why you're shunning her." 

The lady on the right spoke.

"She's different."

Nick looked baffeled.

"What do you mean... different?"

"Look at what she wairs. Skin tight shirt and pants, and boots? Ladies don't wear that."

"What is this? The eighteenth century? She can wear whatever the hell she wants."

The ladies began to whisper to one another. Nick raised his eyebrow.

One of the women walked away, leaving the other two with Nick. She walked past Rochelle, staring at her. Rochelle simply ignored her.

"As I was saying... This is modern day, zombies or not. She can do as she wants." Nick returned his attention to the other two ladies.

The ladies didn't look at him.

"Hello!" Nick called.

Rochelle turned. The woman was returning, with a guard. She looked at Nick, who was getting rather irate. The man walked past Rochelle as the woman stood behind her.

"Excuse me sir." The man poked Nick with his hunting rifle.

Nick turn, already disgruntled.

"I'll ask you once to calmly leave the ladies alone and return to your post." The man said coldly.

"Were just having a conversation... sir." Nick said, looking at the women.

"Not what I was told." The man gripped his weapon, "Why don't you come with me?"

"Why don't you bite me?"

Without warning, the man whacked Nick in the with his rifle. Nick fell to the ground.

"Nick!" Rochelle yelled, running to him. The man stopped her in her tracks, grabbing her wrist.

"Step away from here and return to your post, or face the consequences."

Rochelle looked at Nick who was still on the ground. Two more guards came, and grabbed Nick and began dragging him away.

"Where are you taking him!" Rochelle asked in rage.

"Thats none of your concern. Last warning. Return to your post." The man answered.

Rochelle backed away, watching as the men dragged Nick away.

Ellis stood attentivley atop the rooftop. Another man stood at the other corner of the roof.

"Say..." Ellis said, breaking the silence, "You wanna hear the story 'bout the time me and my buddy Keith went fishing? Keith grabbed a rod and stuff, and while he was putting the worm on the hook, it went right through his thumb. So he took anotha' hook to pry it out and-"

"Shut up." The other guard said, cutting him off.

Ellis paused, and looked down. He saw a few men dragging someone.

"Nick!" Ellis thought aloud. It was.

"HEY!" Ellis yelled, "LET HIM GO RIGH' NOW!"

The men ignored him and continued to drag him. Ellis ran to the stairs to stop them.

"Hey!" The other man yelled, aiming his gun at Ellis. Ellis stopped in his tracks, dropping his gun to the ground and raised his arms in the air. 

"You have till the count of five to return to your post before I shoot..." The man said, voice cracking.

"Alright man, take it easy..." Ellis said calmly. He picked his rifle up, and returned to the post.

Coach was talking to a man and woman near Bertram's hut.

The man began.

"I came to this place unarmed, ripped up clothes, near starving. Bertram let me in, gave me what I needed. I never want to leave this place."

"The infection only started a few weeks ago. How did so many people find this place?" Coach asked.

The woman answered.

"We were all headed to Garden City for the evac. But we found this place. Didn't you hear? Garden City got infected. If it hadn't been for Kevin, we would have all walked to our deaths."

"How does he know for sure?"

Before either could answer, they both directed their attention at the nearby guards dragging someone. Coach turned as well.

"Nick!" Coach thought.

Nick began squirmming out of their grips, the men let him go. One man aimed his rifle at the back of Nick's head, while the other man began beating the back of his head with his rifle. Nick stopped moving.

Coach ran over.

"Hey stop! Leave him alone!" Coach pushed the man aiming the gun, he fell to the ground, who dropped his weapon. Quickly, Coach grabbed the rifle and pointed it at the other guard.

"Drop it!" Coach demanded.

The man complied.

Back with Ellis, who was watching the ordeal.

"We got a live one." The man said, and aimed at Coach. Ellis aimed his at the man.

"I'll give ya till the count a 2 to drop that there gun, or I start shooting." Ellis smirked. The man began to sweat, but obeyed. The other rooftop guards began to notice the situation. This was getting bad.

"Coach!" Ellis yelled, "Get outta there! Their aimi-" Ellis stopped, his shoulder in immense pain. He had been shot. He fell back, dropping his weapon. He held his shoulder in pain and let out a cry. The man grabbed his weapon and aimed at the bleeding Ellis.

Coach saw all.

"ELLIS!" Coach cried. He looked around. The guards surrounded him.

One called out.

"Drop the weapon! Now!" One of them yelled.

Coach looked at Nick, who wasn't moving. He dropped it, and went on his knees. Three of the men walked to him, still pointing their guns at him. One hit him in the back of the head, and all went black for Coach.

Rochelle saw in the distance as all her comrades were beaten and hurt. She couldn't help them, the men would overwhelm them, and they'd all die. If she wanted to help them, she would have to wait for the right moment. She saw Ellis be dragged to the stairs by the other guard. When they reached the bottom floor, Ellis was tossed out the door. He let out a whail of pain. Rochelle's eyes began to tear up. This couldn't be happening. Ellis rose with all his strength and ran. The man chased him. He was running torwards her. The women Rochelle was with ran away with the children. Ellis stopped near her, he reached in his pocket and handed her his extra pistol. The man couldn't tell what he was holding and shot at him. One flew by his cheek, he dropped the pistol and looked at Rochelle.

"Sorry Ro." Ellis looked down, then went to his knees. Rochelle grabbed the pistol and stuff it in her pants. The man ran up and whacked Ellis in the back. Ellis fell forward. Rochelle placed her hands on her mouth to stop the scream.

"Are you alright?" The man asked Rochelle.

"Ye... yeah." She nodded. He grabbed Ellis' leg, and continued dragging him. He dragged him to the other men, and placed him on the ground. The guards began chatting with one another about what to do with them. One of them walked to Bertram's hut and knocked. A large man opened the door. He was muscular, with a buzz cut. He must have been the military at one point. The guard took him to Ellis, Nick and Coach. The large man began barking orders at the guards. All Rochelle could hear was the "Yes sir!" The guards cried. They dragged them to Bertram's hut, and slammed the door.

Rochelle looked at the sky. It would be dark soon. She began walking to the barracks. If she was going to save them, it would be an night.

**Woo! Longest one yet. I felt so aweome writing this. My first actual attempt to change the storyline, it was awkward at first, but I think the end was result was decent. I really want some input this time. Should I continue with my own personal story arcs, or stay with the plot? Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

Death or Glory

**Here we go, the tenth installment in Death or Glory! And the second installment of "Bertram's paradise" arc. This will be the first of many of my own personal add-ons to the Left 4 Dead universe. Don't worry, I won't leave the other survivors out of it. I have plans for them as well. Hope you guys like this next installment as much as I enjoyed making it.**

Nick's head was pounding. A smack to the head'll do that. He looked around, only to find himself in a pitch black room. He couldn't see his hand, which he held right infront of his face. He heard the sound of breathing around him. Two sets of heavy breath greeted him from both sides. He felt around, and felt the brim of a hat.

"Ellis!" Nick whispered. No answer. He nudged his companion, without Ellis showing any sign of even noticing it. Nick sighed, and began feeling around, looking for Coach and Rochelle. he found Coach, who was laying on his side. He nudged him, who, like Ellis, didn't respond. Nick paused after he heard a door open. He saw a small glimmer of light from across the room. Nick fell to the ground and closed his eyes. A door opened, shining light all over the room. The three survivors were in a small cell. A cage with metal bars seperating them from the door. Two figures walked through the door, Nick was unable to see who they were from the light. One was tall and muscular, the other short and skinny.

The tall one began.

"These are the three I was telling you about. They resisted arrest and..."

"Shhh!" The shorter man almost forced out of his mouth.

He walked up to the cage. He looked at the three, and gave Nick a long look.

"Feel free to stand up."

Nick, who was surprised he saw through the ploy, stood up.

"Where the hell are we?" Nick looked around.

"You're in my domain." The short man grinned, "My name is Bertram. This is my house. This cell you'll be staying in, is mine."

Bertram was an odd looking fellow. A weasel-like nose and a sly smirk were his most noteable facial feature. He wore polo shirt with ripped sleeves. His legged were covered by Khaki pants, ripped at the knees.

Nick looked at the tall man. The man looked down to the ground, motionless. Bertram looked at his friend.

"Where are my manners? This is my right hand man, Arthur." Bertram nodded to his accomplice.

Arthur was a tall fellow. A red beard covered his mouth. His hair long and curly. He wore a long sleeved plaid shirt, a black belt, jeans, and black combat boots.

"Wow, your names suck." Nick mused.

Bertram looked at Arthur, who responded with a nod, and walked to the cell. He opened the gate.

"Out..." Arthur order Nick, "Now!"

Nick charged at him, Arthur sidestepped him, Nick running into the celldoor. Nick paused for a second, rubbing his face. Arthur grabbed his collar, and tossed him out of the cell. Nick tripped and hit the ground. Bertram backed away slowly as Arthur closed the door. Nick rose slowly. He rose his fists, knowing a fight was iminent. He swung at Arthur with a left hook. Arthur lifted his large arm and blocked the fist with his wrist. He jabbed at Nick's gut, who let out a breath, the wind being knocked out of him. Nick launched a right swing, hitting Arthur in the left cheek. Not even dazed, he slammed his boot into Nick's chest, as Nick fell back, slamming against the floor. Nick tried to stand, but couldn't. Bertram looked down at him.

"You're first." He grinned. Arthur grabbed his leg, and dragged him out the door, Bertram following from behind. The door slammed, leaving the sleeping Ellis and Coach in the darkness.

The sunset made the sky a bright orange. Rochelle looked up at the sky, as the clouds drifted, almost dancing. She thought back to Kevin taking their weapons. Why didn't she figure out something was wrong from the get-go. All she had was Ellis' extra pistol, she wouldn't stand a chance. She turned to see the guards on higher alert than when they arrived. More on patrol. A few guarded Bertram's house, where they were keeping her friends.

"Ma'am." Ro heard from behind her. A guard looked at her, "I'm afraid your choice of clothes won't be accepted here."

"Whats wrong with the way I dress?" Rochelle cocked her eyebrow.

"The men here cannot be attracted to your body. We can't afford anymore children in this hell. They don't deserve it."

Rochelle sighed, and nodded. The guard escorted her to the changing room, which was next to the barracks. There was a men and women's side. Rochelle walked to the women's side, and rummaged through the clothing. She found a man's XXL "Midnight Riders" T-shirt, and put it on. Rochelle didn't like dresses or skirts, but didn't want to ruffel any feathers. She grabbed belt with a dress stiched to it, and placed it on.

She walked back to the guard who smiled. 

"Thats better."

Rochelle let out a fake smile, resisting the urge to slap him. Rochelle walked to the barracks, and sat down on the sleeping bag Ellis was placed on when they arrived. She layed back and looked at the ceiling for a while. She could see the other citizens piling in and going to their beds. She heard people whispering of the events of the day. As she heard the slandering of her friends, she couldn't help but feel disgust and loathing. After a short while, the whispering stopped, as the sound of snoring substituted. Rochelle rose from her bed, noticing two guards partolling both sides of the barracks. She crawled around the beds, trying to wake anyone. A patrol was close, but he didn't see her. Her options were to hold him up, or let him ago. She let him walk by, and rose to a croutch, dashing to the door, running through. The guards heard the door, and ran over to investigate. One looked into the distance to see Rochelle.

"We got a runner." One turned to the other. The other nodded.

Nick could barely keep his eyes open. He was strapped to a wooden chair with armrests. Bertram paced infront of him as Arthur sat near the door. The light above lit and blunk. He tried looking around, but it was all blurry. Bertram grabbed his chin and raised his head, causing them to make eye contact.

"Don't fall asleep on me now." Bertram giggled, "Lemme ask you something. Do you like it here?"

"Nawt everrr..." Nick mumbled. He was disoriented.

"Lets change that. Get the screen down Arthur."

Arthur walked over to a hook in the ceiling, pulled it down, causing the projector screen to be exposed. Another guard rolled over a large movie camera being held at level of the projector by a small filing cabinet. The guard started the recording. Nick, though groggy, turned his eyes to the screen, which began flashing. The movie began, opening with Bertram standing infront of the town with a group of armed men.

"Hell there. My name is Bertram, and today, I'm here to show the luxury and safety of my paradise. Me and my men will enter the city, showing you the world around us. Shall we go?"

Bertram began walking, along with the 6 six men and the cameramen. The film skipped ahead, showing Bertram and his men walking through Garden City. This caused Nick to jump up.

"Shhh..." Bertram whispered to his men. The sound of groaning and pain could be heard in the distance. The guard closest to the cameraman began to speak,

"What're we looking for agai-" He was cut off by a Hunter, who landed on his back, letting out a cry. It began clawing him, he let out a spinechilling whail. Two of the men went to help him, but the Hunter slashed at one of the them. The others turned around, many began to scream, including Bertram. The cameraman, who hadn't turned around yet, had managed to record one of the men being hit by a block of cement that was hit offscreen. The man was killed instantly. They heard a large yell, and the tape skipped ahead again. It returns to a bloody Bertram walking back to town with one of his men and the cameraman. He held one of his fallen fighters rifles.

Bertram chuckled, "Thats why we stay in the town."

The tape cuts off there.

"You bastard!" Nick yelled, "You let those men die!"

"Their deaths served a greater purpose, my friend. It showed the danger of the outside world. Hadn't it been for their sacrafice, people would leave this little piece of heaven to look for an evac point that doesn't exist."

"When I get outta this thing-" Nick tried to threaten, but Arthur walked up to him.

"You'll do what?" Arthur looked him in the eye.

"Get him out of here." Bertram commanded.

Rochelle walked through the darkness, trying not to make a noise. She saw a nearby guard with his back turned to her. She moved slowly and stopped right behind him. She gripped the pistol, and grabbed him by the throat. She aimed the gun at his left temple.

"Don't make a sound." Ro hissed.

The man gulped. He dropped his rifle. Rochelle didn't actually know what to do with him, if she killed him, it'd alert the others, if he let him go, he'd tell the others. She inched forward with him, picking up the rifle.

"Whats the plan Ro?" She thought to herself.

"Hey!" She heard out of the blue.

Footsteps. Inbound. They fired at her. She let go of the man and ran. Bullets flew past her, one hitting a nearby wall. She heard the goons talking to one another.

"It's a woman!" 

"She's armed, take her down!"

"Move move move!"

She fired into the night, not expecting to hit anything, until she heard a nearby cry of pain. She actually hit something. She kept moving, she needed to get ot the hut. She dashed to the door. It wouldn't budge. She tried kicking the door, but to no avil. Bullets began hitting the walls, and the door itself. Rochelle fired a few rounds at them. Not sure if she hit anything, she went back to the door. She aimed her rifle the doorknob, and fired. The knob flew off the door. She kicked the door, it opened halfway. Rochelle rammed it, opening the door all the way, she quickly turned around and shut the door again. She pushed it into the frame with all her strength. The hut itself was small. A bed with a few old movie posters. The only other noticable thing was the staircase. She could hear screams from down there. She went down slowly. She noticed that no guards were trying to open the door. Had they lost sight of her? It didn't matter. It was time to find the others. At the end of the staircase, she found a door. She opened it slowly. That door lead to two other doors. She turned to the one on her right, and reached for it slowly.

Ellis and Coach sat in the cell quietly, neither making a sound, but both were awake. They could hear someone coming. Coach braced himself. Ellis looked into the darkness. The bullet wound had stopped bleeding at this point, but he found it very hard to move his right arm. The door beyond the cell opened. A figure walked through.

"You guys! I found you!" The figure said. They knew that voice.

"Rochelle!" They both said happily. She looked around the cell and found the lock.

"Stand back!" She yelled, both back away and she fired at the cell lock three times. The first shot dented the lock, the second missed, the third caused it to break. She opened the door and let the others out.

Ellis gave Ro the biggest hug he could muster. He returned the hug.

"Wheres Nick?" She asked.

"Dunno. We were both out when they took 'em." Ellis answered.

Rochelle figured he was being held in the other room.

"C'mon guys. Follow me." Rochelle told her companions. They complied. She lead them to the other door. Before she walked in, she looked at her companions. Ellis was holding his right shoulder, looking like he was holding back tears. Coach looked tired. She handed Coach Ellis' extra pistol.

"Watch my back." Rochelle nodded. Coach grinned, "Ellis sweetie. You should stay back. You're hurt."

Ellis gave a dissapointed look, but agreed. Coach opened the door, aiming his pistol in front of him. He saw Nick in the chair and Bertram scolding him. He walked through the door, aiming his weapon at the mastermind of the town.

"You must be the one in charge around here. Let my friend go right now." Coach barked. He and the others didn't notice Arthur behind the door, who snuck up behind Rochelle.

"Ro!' Nick yelled. But it was too late. He slammed her against the ground, causing her to drop her weapon. He reached for it, but Ellis jumped on his back.

"That ain't no way to treat a lady!" Ellis yelled, punching him repeatadly in the neck. Arthur grunted, and ran backwards, crashing into the wall. Ellis released his grip, and was almost glued to the wall. Before Ellis could even slide down, he was brutally kicked in the chest by Arthur and his combat boots. Coach aimed his gun at Arthur. Arthur looked at him with his cold eyes. Bertram stomped the back of Coach's left leg, causing him to grunt and lose focus. Arthur dashed to the man and fired a left hook into Coach's eye. Coach yelled and feel to the floor. Bertram couldn't help but laugh. Rochelle shook and moved her arm towards the rifle. She grabbed it, and slowly dragged it torwards herself. She gripped it and aimed at the brute.

"Arthur!" Bertram cried. Arthur turned. He saw the rifle, aimed directly at him. Rochelle pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through his neck, causing him to let a loud gurgle and fell to his death. Arthur's blood sprinkled Bertram and Nick. Coach got up, as Rochelle aimed her weapon at their attacker's boss. For once, he wasn't grinning. Ellis rose up, and walked over to Nick. He undid the straps, and Nick got out of the chair. He looked at Bertram for a few seconds, then punched him in the face with all his might.

"Grab him." Coach said. Ellis and Nick picked him. Nick went through his pockets, finding a key.

"Damn!" Ellis cried in glee, "That must be the armory key."

"Just what we needed." Nick grinned. They walked through the hut door. Gunmen. At least a dozen. They pointed their guns until they caught sight of their hostage. The men all lowered their weapons.

"Alright." Nick grinned, "Good to see you all... were just going to armory of yours... steal some weapons... and stuff like that... and if you try to stop us... we'll kill your manchild of a leader. OK?"

Not even sticking around for a yes or a no, the team went over to the armory and unlocked the door with Bertram's key. As Coach kept watch of the gunmen, Ro, Nick and Ellis began raiding the place. And it was stocked. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, mollies, pipebombs, everything someone would need to survive.

"What are you idiots doing?" They heard a yell. It was Kevin, "Kill them!"

"Oh for fucks sake..." Nick groaned as he picked up an M-16. Coach ran inside and closed the door as they began firing at the armory. Ellis smashed the window open with his shoe and began firing at them with his new Scar-H. He hit two, killing one, sending one to his knees after a shot at the leg.

"Woohoo!" Ellis said happily, "This is like killin' zombies, but they got guns!"

"Thank you for the words of wisdom Ellis!" Nick replied as he kicked the unconsious Bertram. Rochelle tossed Coach a combat shotgun, who then charged at the window and shot a gunmen who was trying to rush the building.

"Nick!" Coach yelled, "Hand me a mollie!"

Nick lit it with his lighter, and handed it to Coach, who tossed it into the crowd, sending most of the men ablaze.

"If were gonna move, now would be a good time!" Rochelle pointed out. Nick grabbed Bertram, who was waking up. Once he caught wind of his captors and where he was, he let out a cry.

"Please don't kill me!" He pleaded, "I'll give you whatever you want, food, weapons, I'll send some of my men to clear Garden City!"

Nick looked at him with disgust. He walked over to him, gripping his rifle.

"No no no! If this is about the video I showed you, I'm sorry! Throw me in the cell! Just please! Please please please!" He was beginning to cry. Liquid pouring from his nose. He looked like a scared child.

"You gutless coward..." Nick hissed. He aimed the gun at Bertram's forehead.

"Please! Don't! Throw me in the cell for the rest of my days! Take whatever you want!"

"You sent your men to a slaughter so you could prove a point, and you terrorize and assimilate everyone who enters this town... and you want us to throw you in a cell? Let me tell you something, you little chickenshit... MEN are put in cells..."

Nick pulled the trigger.

_Bang!_

"... DOGS are put down!"

The others looked at Nick in disbelief. He simply turned around and walked out the door, to see the havoc he and his comrades had caused. He saw Kevin rolling on the floor while his leg was burning. He saw the child who bothered him running away with a few kids and some women. No one was firing at them anymore. This place was Hell before they got there though. Admission to Bertram's Paradise came at a price. Men would go out to Garden City with him and lead them to hordes, having many of them killed. In return, he let their family and friends continue to reside in his town. Those who resisted were beaten by Arthur and shown "The video". Ellis and the others followed him as he walked past the fire and the bodies they created. Before they left the city forever, they all took one last look at the place. The fire was growing, citizens were fleeing.

Rochelle let out a sigh.

"Good riddance..." Nick muttered.

"Hows your would Ellis?" Coach asked the boy.

"Better. It don't burn no more. Maybe cuz we did what we did?" Ellis pondered.

The four walked away from Bertram's paradise... and never looked back.

**Woo! That was fun! I had a blast writing this! I hope you guys like it, I think the ending was a bit aburpt. But fell free to comment and tell me what you think. Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

Death or Glory

Chapter 11: All falls down

**Woo! I feel really proud of myself about the my first actual plot point. Though not many reviews about it, none of them were saying it sucked, so I call it a win! And since two installments are done, it's time to move back to the original cast to see what their up to...**

They had been in the house for about two days now. Bill spent most of it locked in the master bedroom, rarely coming out. Louis and Francis would often leave insearch of food. Zoey would stay and watch Bill. After what he pulled with the horde, they didn't think it was a good idea to leave him alone. Zoey herself sat around in the child's room, looking back at her own childhood. She remembered the afternoons when she got back from school and played in her room for hours, alone. Sometimes her father played with her, but more often came home and entered an argument with his wife. But Zoey didn't care, her room was her heaven, where as long as she was there, nothing could hurt her. She looked around and found children's books and clothes. A tear ran down her face. She hoped the children had escaped, she couldn't bare to have to kill an infected kid.

Bill sat on the bed, taking deep breaths. His weapon lay on the foot of the bed, like a dog sleeping with its master. He thought about what he had done the other day. He understood why the others were upset with him, he really did. He risked his and their lives just to have the slightest bit of redemption. He sighed. He wondered what Zoey was doing. He looked at the door, expecting himself to walk torwards it, but he didn't move. He sat on the bed, and looked at the ground. Would they be safe for long? Did it even matter? Chances are the government was just going to bomb the zed out. It could be all for nothing. He looked at the door again. He thought of the otheres, who all wanted freedom more than even he wanted. He let out a small smile. He couldn't let them die here. They deserved freedom. Even Francis. He got off the bed, and walked to the door, leaving his weapon laying on the bed...

Louis and Francis walked through the street, heading to the small convienience store they've been going to for food for the last few days. Francis walked in front, armed with his shotgun, while Louis armed with his pistol, watched the back. The store was only two blocks from the house, so it wouldn't take long to get there. As they reached the halfway point, Louis broke the silence.

"Francis?" Louis asked.

"Thats my name, don't wear it out. Say it again I punch your lights out." Francis chuckled.

Louis sighed, "What do you think of all this? Zombies? Bill? Zoey? Me?"

"Why so curious?" Francis looked over.

"Well, were stuck with one another, so we might as well get to know about the others opinions."

"Fine. The zombies are the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I'm sorry what?"

"Look at me Louis! I spent all of my time before hell froze over on my bike kicking ass or in a bar kicking ass. I stole shit, pretended to be a cop, threw myself at women... but now, there aren't any rules. It's all survival."

"Um... interesting concept. But this whole thing screwed my life over. I never once thought that one day I'd have to hurt anyone. I just wanted to do my job..."

"Bathroom attendent?"

"No, I worked at a huge electronics department."

"Apple?"

"No... I wo-"

"Then it doesn't matter."

Francis began walking ahead, and Louis gave a stern look at the back of his head, and followed. They reached the store. Louis looked around the building to make sure it wasn't a trap. He turned to Francis to say something, but the biker had already steppped inside. Louis rolled his eyes and followed. Francis grabbed bags of food and 6 packs of beer and soda. Louis was dissapointed that there wasn't anything but snack foods and sodas, but it was better than starving like he had been 4 days ago. He grabbed a few large bags of chips and candy. They both stopped the five finger discount at the sound of something on the other side of the enterance. The two dropped the food and and ran behind the clerk's counter, neither trying to make a sound. The door opened. Footsteps and breathing was all that they heard.

The sound was crying.

"Witch..." Louis groaned.

"Now?" Francis said under his breath, "We gotta get out of here."

"What about about the food?"

"Well we can't leave empty handed. Lets move nice and slow so can grab it."

They both got up slowly, and tip-toe'd over to the dropped food and drink. The Witch was in their aisle, sitting there. Francis was missing the beer, he looked around, and saw it laying on the floor by the Witch. He walked over to it.

"Francis! What the hell are you doing?" Louis hissed.

Francis ignored him and continued walking to the beer. Francis was right behind her. He went to his knees and reached out for it, trying not to touch the Witch. She began squirm, almost touching Francis. He was sweating heavily.

"C'mon..." He thought. He grabbed one of the cans, and began slowly dragging it to himself. It finally reached him, he picked it up, and sprinted out the door. Louis looked at the Witch one more time and ran. They kept running once they were out of the store.

"Francis!" Louis cried, "What the hell was that about?"

"What! It's been like 3 days since I had a beer."

Louis gave him a cold look.

"You almost got us ripped to shreds so you could get drunk Francis!"

"Louis relax. We got away with it. Tell you what, when we get back to the house, you can have the first one."

"I don't drink."

"What! Are you serious?"

"Yes. I rather enjoy my braincells."

"Pussy..."

The witty banter was cut short by a groan.

"Look!" Louis cried. A hunter growled at them while it on the roof of the safe house. It leapt at them. Francis dropped everything but the beer and aimed his shotgun at it and fired. The bullets flew by, a few scratching it. It landed on Louis, knocking him to the ground. Before it could do anything, Francis punted off his friend and shot it as it tried to recover. Francis helped Louis up, and they thought to walk back to the house. But they paused at the sound of a loud moan.

"Aw horseshit..." Francis muttered. They both turned to find a group of common infected, along with a Boomer and a Smoker charging them. Louis fired a few rounds out, killing a common zed. The Smoker shot his tougne out, grabbing Francis by the left arm. He began to drag, but Louis grabbed him. 

"ZOEY! BILL!" Louis cried.

Bill watched as Zoey sat there on the child's bed, she being too busy in her thoughts to even notice him. She looked so depressed. He couldn't blame her. He knew what she was thinking. Child infected. There was no way she could bring herself to kill one. Full grown adults were bad enough. He walked over to her and sat on the bed beside her. She looked at him, her eyes bloodshot and her skin pale. She began to cry. Bill offered his arm, and she accepted. As she cried into his jacket, he remembered Richard. She reminded him so much of him. Innocent, collective, different. He had to keep her alive, if not for Richard, but for himself. He had to make up for his past mistakes.

_Bang!_

The two jumped at the sound of moaning and gunshots.

"ZOEY! BILL!" They heard Louis cry. Zoey leapt off the bed and dashed out the bedroom door. Bill followed, but went into the master bedroom to grab his weapon. He ran out of the room and dashed to the door. He followed behind Zoey, charging through the door. Zoey shot at the infected with her handgun, as a few fell to the floor. Louis shot at the Smoker, gripping Francis' vest.

"You rip the vest, I rip you a new asshole!" Francis yelled.

"Do you want me to save you or not!" Louis cried back, he fired again, hitting the Smoker in the forehead, causing it to release a large puff of smoke. It's tougne released Francis, who cocked his weapon, and charged into the fray. He ran up to a common infected and whacked it with his gun, then fired at its chest.

Bill sprayed into the crowd, hitting en masse. The Boomer spewed bile at him, getting him in the left arm. The zombies, attracted to bile's scent, took their focus off the others, and charged at Bill. He continued to fire never once losing his focus. The others followed the infected to help Bill, Francis firing at them in the back with Zoey and Louis in the back heading for Bill. A stray bullet hit the boomer, leading to a Boomer explosion. Bile covered survivors and infected alike. The zed got confused and began attacking one another. Clawing and biting, few even focused on the survivors. Though the four were somewhat blind, they fled from the crowd to the house. Francis ran to the beer and grabbed it before entering the house. Louis and Bill pushed the couch in the living room infront of the door. Francis sat at the kitchen table with his six pack and grabbed one of the beers, opened it, and took a large gulp.

Zoey watched him in disbelief.

"Are you fucking serious?" She said annoyed.

"Serious in every sense of the word." Francis smiled before taking another sip.

Louis walked over to the table and grabbed one of the remaining five and opened it. He took a small sip.

"What happened to not drinking?" Francis mused.

"I feel like being stupid." Louis said calmly.

"Alright!" Bill sighed, "Anyone have a plan?"

"We sit around and die?" Francis suggested before swallowing more booze.

"Theres barely any left out there. We can take 'em!" Zoey said excitedly.

"It'll be dark soon." Louis said, "smaller line of sight, more places for infected to hide, we'd be walking into a slaughter."

"We'll have to stay here another night." Bill suggested. It was the only choice that showed any sign of survival. Louis looked out the window. Some of the infected were leaving, a few were still fighting one another.

Bill looked at Zoey.

"Why don't you take the big bed tonight.."

"What!" Francis yelled, "No fair! She didn't do anything to earn it!"

"Francis!" Bill gave him a beyond evil look, "There ain't no way in hell you're getting the bed."

Francis got up from the chair and looked at Bill. He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't. He stormed to the bathroom, slammed the door, and locked it. Louis let out a sigh of relief. At least Bill and Francis weren't at each others throats again. Bill walked over to the recliner in the living room and sat down. Zoey gave Louis a look before walking to the master bedroom. Louis walked over to Bill.

"What is with you and Francis?" Louis asked.

"He's annoying, self-centered, a thief, and a dickhead." Bill answered.

"Well... that may be true, but we are stuck with home until we get rescued, so until then, can we at least try to get along?"

"I can't make any promises... but I'll try."

Louis gave Bill a small smile. He hoped Bill would keep his word. Bill gave him a false smile. Bill thought Louis was too nice for his own good. There we only so many chances he could give a man like Francis. Bill sighed. He needed a smoke.

Zoey sat on the corner of the bed, looking at the pattern Bill's weapon left on the blanket. She wondered when she didn't have to do this anymore. She put too much thought into the idea of getting away from the zombies. There was no gurantee that any of them would find the green zone. They could all die a week from now, or tomorrow. Hell, they could be dead within the hour. She knew Francis didn't want to stay with them. He seemed to rather be alone. Louis knows we can't get out of here alone, they'd need to stay together if they wanted to get out of it alive. She thought Bill was like that too, but a little different. He almost seemed like he belonged in a place like this. She knew he was a soldier, but even a guy like him doesn't belong in a hellish place like this.

Francis sat on the toilet, his arms crossed. He wanted out. These people were getting on his last nerves, Louis was too nice, Bill was too huge a dick, and Zoey was too much like the other two. He thought about just leaving, but they'd try and stop him. He'll have to wait until it gets dark.

The sun was setting. It would be dark in a matter of minutes. The four met infront of the door.

"So who's gonna take first watch?" Zoey asked.

"I'll do it!" Francis blurted out. The others were shocked to see the biker try to do anything constructive.

"Um... if you want Francis..." Louis said suspiciously.

Bill didn't trust him. There was no way he was going to nominate himself for first watch to be a stand-up guy. Bill nodded and walked to the children's room. Louis went into the corner of the living room and closed his eyes. Zoey walked to the master bedroom without a second thought. Francis sat on the recliner for hours, shotgun resting on his lap. He could hear Louis snoring behind him. He walked over to the master bedroom and opened the door a bit. He saw Zoey laying on the bed in a deep sleep. He closed the door slowly and walked over to the kids room. He saw Bill laying on the bed, eyes closed. Francis chuckled and headed back to the living room. He had to move the couch without making a sound. He pushed it slowly. Louis began talking in his sleep, which alarmed Francis. He was muttering something about someone called Gordan Freeman. Francis ignored him, and went back to moving the couch. After about 15 minutes of slow-mo, Francis had moved the couch just out of the doors way.

He gripped the door knob and turned it. He stopped at the sound of breathing behind him. He turned. It was Bill.

"Whew! Almost gave me a heart attack old ma-" Francis giggled before Bill cut him off.

"May I ask what you're doing?" Bill asked sternly.

"Just uh... going for a walk?"

"Francis. Do you honestly think you'll last alone out there?"

"I hate dealing with you guys!"

**New drinking game. Everytime Francis says he hates something, take a shot. ^^**

"Well you're stuck with us! At least make the best of it. We have to stick together if we want to survive."

Louis opened his eyes barely to inspect the argument.

"I don't have to make the best of anything. Were all gonna be dead soon, why not die comfortably?"

"Francis. Stop being such an ass! We can make it out of this!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I'd rather die than see you, Louis, or Zoey die."

"Wha... what?"

"Francis, you have your youth. You have more of a chance of chaging things than I ever had. Besides, I'm a soldier. My job is to die in the field."

Francis looked to the ground, shocked at what he heard. He didn't expect Bill to actually CARE about him.

"I'd be dead now if you hadn't of saved me from that Charger. I owe you one Francis."

"I was just going by insticts."

"Well your insticts saved me. I can't promise we'll all get out of here, but we have to trust each other so we can even have the chance. We need to be able to watch each others back." Bill raised a hand to him.

Francis looked at the hand, and gripped it. They shook and grinned at each other. Louis smiled when he saw this.

"Rule 32: Enjoy the little things." He thought to himself. They finally found an understanding. Louis just hoped it would last...

**Bluh. This chapter got delayed so many times. What with the sign-in issues, and writers block, but I think it came out alright. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. :D**


	12. Chapter 12

Death or Glory

**Zomg!1 I'm updating twice in one day! Theres not much that can be said other than I love doing this, and at the moment, I have all the time in the world. Plus I wouldn't want to leave my readers dissapointed ;) So yeah. In this installment, I introduce a sub-plot! What will it be! Louis finally finds pills? Francis shaves? If you asked those questions, you really haven't been paying attention throughout the series have you? But yeah, read on so the adventure can begin...**

Chapter 12: Message in a bottle

Zoey, Francis and Bill snored as Louis tookw watch. He mostly read books, but occasionally peeked out the window after thinking he heard a noise, only to find there was nothing there. He returned to his book. He read the dialouge of the book in his head.

"That Pyro is a Spy!" The Engineer pointed at his long time companion.

The Pyro looked at it's teammates, shocked by the accusations. Even after he had saved them from the Scout rush, they still didn't-

_Bzzzzz!_

"What the hell?" Louis said aloud. Was there a bee or something flying around? He got out of the recliner and began looking out the window, nothing out there.

_Bzzzzz!_

There it was again. It was coming from inside the house.

"Shit!" He thought.

He thought he heard it coming from the bathroom, and he was right. The buzzing was coming from somewhere in the room. He looked around, and turned to the mirror. The buzzing coming from behind it. He opened it, and to his surprise, it was a cell phone. He picked it up and read the caller ID.

Rebecca.

He opened the phone, and brought it to his ear.

"H-hello?" He asked.

"Micheal! It's Becca!" The voice on the other line cried.

"Um.. miss, this isn't Micheal. My name is Louis."

"Oh god Micheal... what happened to you?"

"We've been hiding out in what I assume to be Micheal's house."

"Sir! You have to help me! Please, these "things" are all over the place. One jumped on my friend Peter and he turned into one of them!"

"Okay... Becca, calm down. Speak nice and slowly..."

"Slowly? These things are trying to eat me!"

"Where are you? Maybe me and my friends can help you."

"I'm at the mall a few miles from Micheal's house."

"OK. Stay on the line, alright? I have to tell my friends."

She gulped, but Louis understood what she didn't say. He quickly ran to the kid's room, where he found Bill sleeping. He began shaking him quickly. Bill groaned.

"Louis? Is it morning already?" He said quietly. Louis handed the phone to Bill, who was surprised there was someone on the other line.

"Hello?" Bill asked.

"Where's Louis?" Becca asked.

"He's going to wake the others. I'm Bill, who're you?"

Louis rushed to the couch in front of the door where Francis was sleeping, he nudged Francis.

"Five more minutes Mom..." Francis murmered. Louis nudged him again, this time waking him up.

"The hell do you want?" Francis asked, aggitated.

"Go in the kids room with Bill, you'll know then."

Francis sighed, got up, and walked to the room, Louis ran to the master bedroom. He opened the door to find Zoey starting out the window. She turned to him.

"You should see this." Louis said, gestering for her to follow him. She got up and walked with him. They walked in to find Francis and Bill mid-conversation with Becca.

"What the hell are you doing in the mall anyway?" Francis said sternly.

"They said people were getting saved here. They said it was safe. Then "they" got into the mall, all the people were ripped to shreds. We never had a chance. All my friends... dead."

Francis sighed. Bill looked at Louis and Zoey. Louis walked up and began talking to the girl.

"Becca. It's Louis. Were coming to get you. Stay where you are, find something to defend yourself with."

"O-OK..." She said slowly.

The crew began to gear up, leaving Becca on the line. The four were ready in a few minutes, Louis grabbed the phone, and they walked out the house. Francis was the first person to speak after they were a few feet from the house.

"If we die trying to save your girlfriend Louis, I'm going to kick your ghostly ass."

"Francis, she isn't my girlfriend, she's a scared young girl. What kind of people would we be if we let her die?"

"Survivors." Francis said coldly.

"Francis.." Zoey interjected, "We have to at least try."

"Fine. Just don't forget to tell me I was right before we get killed." He chuckled.

"We aren't going to die." Bill said in order to lighten the mood.

"I like the optimism Old Man, but if this girl is telling the truth, and can't find a way out, either shes a blonde or the place is swarmed with infected."

The three sighed, leaving Francis to raise an eyebrow. He shrugged and continued walking.

Louis and Zoey had been living in Phillie for all their lives, and new the city like the back of their hands, they knew the mall she was referring to. It was about 30 minutes away by walk. Five minutes into the walk, a familiar noise stopped them in their tracks. Large amounts of groaning.

"Are you shitting me?" Bill yelled. He looked up and saw a Hunter on the roof. He fired at it, but before he could even tell if he hit, Zoey's cry caused him to turn.

"Charger!"

It crashed into her, and lifted her in the air. Bill fired at it. 

"Let her go, you ugly son of a bitch!" It shrugged all the bullets of and slammed Zoey against the floor. Francis shot it in the back, causing it to grab at its back in pain, dropping Zoey in the process. It slammed its fist in Francis' direction, he jumped out of the way, causing it to hit the road, causing it to crack and smash. Louis ran to help Francis, but was knocked over by the Hunter. He let out a loud scream.

"What the hell is going on!" Becca screamed, her voice cracking.

Zoey got up and limped towards the Hunter, hitting it with her shoulder. It fell off Louis, and she began firing at it with her pistol. It fell to the ground dead. The Charger smacked Francis with the back of it's giant hand, causing the Biker to fly a few feet before slamming against the concrete sidewalk. Bill charged at it, shooting at the back of it's head. It fell to the ground.

Zoey helped Louis up, Francis limped over to the others.

"You alright kid?" Bill asked him.

"I hate Chargers." Francis groaned.

They all turned to the phone hearing Becca in tears.

"Please don't be dead... please God, don't let them be dead..."

Zoey picked up the phone.

"Don't worry, it'll take alot more than that to kill us."

They heard Becca laugh a little as she tried to hold back the tears.

"No need to cry Becca..." Louis said, "We'll make it you, I promise."

"Lets keep moving.." Bill ordered calmly.

The four continued walking, not even interested in the zombies they killed. They walked for about fifthteen minutes before Becca broke the silence.

"Is it like this all over the world? Is there even anywhere safe to hide. None of them wanted to say they didn't know.

"Of course..." Louis said. The others looked at him oddly, but understood he was just trying to give her some hope, which she needed more than anything. They began to see the mall in the distance. It was about another 10 minutes before they got there.

"So Zoey..." Becca said, "It's such a relief to know I'm not the only woman left on Earth."

"Tell me about it. If these three were the only people left on Earth, I would have shot myself minute one." Zoey laughed, Becca joined in. The men rolled their eyes. After what seemed to be ages, the four survivors arrived at the mall parking lot.

"Keep on your toes people." Bill said quietly, "There are a hella bunch of places the infected could be hiding in a place like this." The other three nodded, and walked slowly. Becca tried not to even breath. She didn't want to lead to these peoples demise. They stayed away from the cars. Better safe than sorry.

"Crap!" Becca whispered, "My phone's battery is gonna die!"

"Just tell us where you are in the mall..." Louis said calmly.

"Girls bathroom by the food court."

The four began to jog. They stopped infront of the enterance. The four took one last look around. The sound of dead air polluted the air. They went inside. The mall was destroyed. Blood on the walls, glass broken all around. They were by "The Better You" clothing department. The food court was on the other side of the mall.

"Alright Becca, were heading the food court, be there quick. Got it?"

No answer. Louis swore under his breath, her battery died. The four began to ran down the mall, passing store after store. They passed a Starbucks, and as they ran by, the sound of heavy breathing met there backs. A tongue grabbed Bill. It began pulling him back. he others ran to assist the veteran. Francis grabbed Bill, leaving Zoey and Louis to shoot at the Smoker. It was too dark to tell if there were hitting anything, there was no scream, or yelp. Zoey walked over to the broken window to check. Zoey yelled, turned around and ran. Dozens of infected began pouring out the broken glass. Francis shot at the infected, then shot the Smoke tongue, causing it to release its grip on Bill, and the two ran, Louis followed. They fired back at the pursuers, only attracting more to the horde. More came out of stores. Some began jumping off the second story floor after them. Louis went to yell something, but was cut short by the Jockey that began scratching his face.

"Mother fucker!" Louis yelled, trying to pull it off. Zoey turned and shot it, hitting it in the chest. It fell off the man, and they began running again. Bill sprayed into the horde, causing many of them to fall.

"I see the food court!" Francis yelled, it was dead ahead. It was even more wreched than the enterance. Tables bathed in blood, broken chairs on the ground, bodies laying in the small fountain. The four ran into the court, infected dead on their tails.

"Anyone got a plan?" Zoey yelled.

"Louis! Go get the girl! We'll hold them off!" Bill yelled.

"But what if-" Louis tried to say, but Francis cut him off. 

"Go save the girl before I kick your ass!"

Louis gulped, and nodded, he ran to the bathroom. He opened the door slowly, find to doors on opposite sides of the room. Louis walked over to the door marked, "Girls" and opened the door. He walked in, hearing a something in one of the stalls.

"Becca!" Louis called out, "It's me... Louis..."

"LOUIS!" He heard the scream coming from the farthest stall, "HELP!"

He opened the stall to find a common infected scrathcing and biting her. He shot it in the back of the head, causing her to scream as it fell on her. She tossed it to the side. She was a pretty girl, nice, healthy, long hair. She dressed rather skimpy, wearing a short skirt and a tank top exposing cleavage. She sat on the toilet, breathing heavily. Her face and chest were cut, causing her to lose blood. Louis looked at her, feeling sad for this stranger. She looked at him and opened her mouth.

"Louis.. I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault, we should have gotten here faster."

She coughed. She would be infected soon. Louis raised his pistol at her. He had never killed a non-infected before. A tear rolled down her face. He closed his eyes, and turned his head away.

Louis pulled the trigger. She let out a yelp, and silence. He looked down at the ground. He was almost crying. He walked out of the bathroom to go find his friends. They were still fighting the remnants of the horde. Louis fired off a few rounds, but by the time he reached them, the last had fallen.

"Wheres the girl?" Francis asked. Louis said nothing. Zoey looked down to the ground.

"I'm sorry Louis.." Bill put his hand on the mans shoulder. 

"Lets just go. Please."

The others nodded, and started to head back to the enterance.

**Whew. That one felt kind of weak. I dunno, what do you guys think? Leave a comment please. We'll be back with the L4D 2 cast next time. Until next time..**


	13. Chapter 13

Death or Glory

Chapter 13: Duel

**Hey guys. Sorry if that little side thingy in chapter 12 was a little weak. It was hard to think of something that would only be covered in one chapter. But were back with the new cast, and their a little shaken after the events of Bertram's Paradise. Lets see how these shenanigans go...**

They walked for two days straight, rarely stopping for rest or food. No one spoke very often, and when they did, it was brief. The walking had been taking effect on the survivors, often looking around for humans and zed alike. It was getting stressful. Nick rubbed his sweaty forehead, they hadn't seen anywhere to stop since the town.

"Wheres Garden City again?" Rochelle thought aloud.

"Las' time I saw a sign, it was 'bout 10 miles away." Ellis panted.

Nick stopped in his tracks.

"7 miles?" He muttered, "We've been walking for 2 days and were not even halfway there?" Nick stomped the ground several time, shouting swear after swear. Coach walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Nick. Relax. We got out of that town, and we haven't seen any infected since. Were in the clear." Coach grinned.

"Hate to break it to you tons of fun, but the odds of us being, "In the clear." are slim to none." Nick sneered.

"Wow, you're less optomistic than usual."

"Is that supposed to be shocking? You are aware we were imprisoned right?"

"Nick, it's in the past. We have to keep going." Rochelle added.

"In the pa... it was TWO DAYS AGO! We literally had to fight our way out of that place, killing God knows how many people!" Nick yelled.

"Nick," Ellis said softly, "We've been' fightin' people for days now. Them infected is people. They ain't healthy, but their still people. We gotta kill 'em if we want to live."

"Those "things" are not people. They lost that title." Nick store at Ellis. He turned and continued to walk. The three jogged to him to keep pace. Rochelle got to him first.

"Nick, they ARE people." Rochelle said sadly.

"Are we seriously discussing this? Ro, they tried to eat us! They are rotting flesh! These are EX-people! This isn't hard to comprehend." Nick said, annoyed.

Coach and Ellis wanted to add something, but Rochelle gestered to the two to drop it. They continued to walk, when something almost amazing was seen by Nick.

"A car!" Nick yelled sprinting at to the vechile. The others were surprised to see it, sitting next to the road, doors closed. They all strided over the door, but Nick got there first. He pulled on the door handle, but it was locked. He tried to look inside, but the windows were tinted. It was an old junker, a pale shade of green, covered in dents and blood. The window went down, but before Nick could react, a pistol met his forehead, gripped by a survivor. The others stopped and pulled out their weapons. They aimed at the car.

"Tell yer friends to drop their weapons, before you find get a hold in yer forehead." The voice from in the car said calmly. A man. He was southern, like Ellis and Coach, with a deep, gruff voice.

"Guys..." Nick whispered, "Put them down."

The three looked at one another, and holstered their weapons again. The hand went back into the car, rolling the window up, and the door on the drivers side opened. The figure was a little taller than Nick. He wore a white tank top with a belt and loose jeans and sneakers. His head was bathed in piercings, two on his nose, three on his left ear, two on his right, and one large one on his bottom lip. He had a buzz cut, but the four managed to see the faintness of blonde hair, complimented by blue eyes.

"Thats not attractive in the slightest." Rochelle thought to herself.

He walked in between Nick and the others, looking at both sides, and sighed.

"Yew folks were gonna steal ma car... weren't cha?" He asked.

"No sir," Coach said politely, "We were just inspecting it for infected, we didn't even think you'd be in it or anything."

"Who are ya four?"

Rochelle began, "Well my name is Rochelle. These are Ellis and Coach, and the man you almost shot is our friend Nick."

He looked at Nick, holstering his weapon.

"Sorry 'bout that."

Nick raised an eyebrow in disbelief about the fact an apology was supposed to cover almost dying.

"Ma names Mark." The new survivor said, "Where yall headed."

"Garden City." Ellis said nicely, "Word is theres an evac point dere."

Mark looked at his car.

"Yall want a ride? I wanna get outta here too."

"SHOTGUN!" Ellis yelled running to the car, running past Mark, who chuckled. Nick sighed and walked to the car. Before walking to the car, Coach gave their new friends a firm handshake.

"I can't thank you enough Mark. You're the first person who hasn't shot at us in two days."

"Thata fact? You mean dat little group people camped out by Savannah?"

"Well, they WERE camped out there. We kinda burnt the place down." 

"I can respect that." Mark giggled and walked to the car, Rochelle walking to Coach.

"What do you think of him?" She asked.

"There ain't nothing wrong with a guy who's gonna help get us outta here. He's good in my book." He patted Rochelle's shoulder and walked to the car, Rochelle shrugged, and followed. Nick, Ro, and Coach could barely fit in the backseat.

"Kickin' in the front seat, kickin' in the back sat.." Ellis sang to himself.

"Ellis, don't make me get blood on my seats." Mark said coldly, turning his key into ignition. The engine roared as he switched to reverse. Once on the road, he switched to drive, and off they went. For the first few minutes, all was silent.

"So yall run into them mutated infected yet?" Mark asked.

"Yep. Ran into a Tank not too long ago." Rochelle said.

"A Tank?"

"Them big strong looking ones." Ellis said to clarify.

"Oh, yall been namin 'em?"

"Not like we had anything else to do." Nick shrugged.

"Whatever keeps ya sane I suppose."

"And you? How'd you manage to stay alive this long alone?" Rochelle asked.

"Wasn't alone. I was with some friends when it all went down. We got ambused. I saw 'em all get ripped to shreds, and I ran away." Mark said quietly.

"Oh.. I'm so so-"

"Don worry 'bout it, you were askin' a question, I gave an answer."

Rochelle sighed.

4 miles from G.C.

Ellis' eyes were closed, almost asleep. Rochelle hadn't said a word after her question to Mark, while Nick was making idle chit-chat with him and Coach.

"Alright, so lets say you're fucking a girl, and halfway through, she turns. Is that mean you fucked a zombie?" Nick asked.

"Well she was human when you started, so I don think so." Mark said.

"Depends if you're still fucking her while she's trying to eat you." Coach said laughing, the other two joining in.

They saw a sign, reading "City line."

Mark drove slowly over the boundaries.

"This place is infected. Be careful." Nick said.

"How do you know that?" Coach asked.

"I... I don't want to talk about it."

They began to drive by buildings, seeing infected walk around the street, taking notice to the vechile. They began to give chase, but the car was far faster. The five drove down the street, finding a intersection. Mark stopped the car.

"So where is the building their pickin people up in?" Mark asked.

Silence.

"You do KNOW, right?"

No one said a thing.

"Are you shittin' me! I drove you guys here with hopes a getting outta here, and you don't know where or if this evac thing is or if it even exists?"

"Well... um..." Nick mumbled.

Mark began hitting the car horn, causing it to blare. Ellis woke up, and Rochelle returned to reality.

"No stop!" Rochelle yelled.

"No! I tried listeni-" Mark was cut off, a slam came from Ellis' side of the car, causing it to slide and flip to its side from the friction. The five all were knocked to the left of the car, causing the weight to make it fall to on the roof. The men all had their heads slammed against the roof, Rochelle was wearing a seatbelt.

"I think..." Ellis muttered, "... I think we found a Tank..."

"I..." Nick began, "fucking... hate you Ellis."

The five all crawled to the door, and opened them, Ellis' crushed inward, causing it not to open.

"Ellis." Mark called, "Come over here."

Ellis began to crawl over, but stopped when the car was slammed back by the Tank.

"Ellis!" Rochelle yelled.

"My fuckin' car!" Mark cried.

"Ro, he's fine," Nick said, grabbing his M-16 and spraying at the Tank, "We have a bigger problem!"

The Tank slammed its fist to the ground infront of Coach, who fell back, hitting a wall behind him. He tried to get up, but he felt like he pulled something, and grabbed his back. Mark ran to Coach, and tried to lift him up.

"C'mon! This ain't the time for sittin'!" He said, firing his pistol at the Tank. The Tank didn't pay mind to the pea shooter, and focused on Nick and Rochelle. It charged at Rochelle, who leapt out of the way, hitting the sidewalk. She looked back, seeing Ellis slowly crawl out of the car. Her focus returned to the Tank, which was chasing Nick.

"FUCKING SHOOT IT!" He yelled. The three fired at it, hitting it in the back, causing it to let out a whail. Nick turned to the left, spun around and fired at it, shooting inaccuratly, only hitting it a few times. It tried to slam its arm on him, but missed while trying to recover. Nick fired a few shots at its face. It fell to the ground, breathing heavily. It didn't have the strength to get up. The four circled around it. Ellis limped over, almost falling over. Rochelle held him up, as they looked at the near-death infected.

Nick raised his weapon at it, but before firing, looked at the others. Rochelle and Ellis gave a look of hopelessness, Coach gave a sigh a dissapointment. Nick sighed, and lowered his weapon slowly. The three gave small grins.

_BANG!_

The bullet got the top of the Tanks head, going directly through the skull, entering the brain. The four looked at one another, finally noticing the smoke coming from Mark's gun as he lowered it.

"Nick, you're such a pussy." Mark chuckled, and walked ahead.

The four watched as Mark walked a few feet, stopped and looked at them.

"Yall coming or what?"

**Woo! Another OC character! What do you guys think of him? I know he hasn't displayed much personality yet, but I'm curious to know if you guys think he'll suck. And what did you think of the chapter as a whole. I know it was short, the second half will be much longer. Until next time...**


	14. Chapter 14

Death or Glory

Chapter 14: Do or die

**Ergh! I didn't do anything this weekend for DoG! I need to get back in the game. Heres hoping Ch. 14 is epic! 13 was on the weak side, so I gotta bring my A-game. Hope you guys like it.**

The five walked down the cold, dead street, the smell of bodies and blood ran through their noses. It was chilling, each building bathed in blood, with bodies laying on the wall and the window frames. Nick looked at Mark, who was spearheading the advance. He turned, feeling Nick's eyes on him, and looked at the con-man. His eyes were large, showing no remorse. Mark found happiness in this chaos. It was a sickening look really. Nick knew the look. He enjoyed the killing, the feeling of blood being poured on him. These weren't people to him anymore, they were targets. He lost his train of thought as his comrades stopped walking.

"Ya'll here that too, right?" Ellis asked his friends.

Nick listened, and heard the crying.

"Sounds like theres someone alive out there.." Rochelle thought aloud.

"Nah," Mark said, "Thats the sound of a Witch. They cry and bitch, and if you shine light on 'em, they claw you to death. I've seen 'em with my own eyes."

Mark began walking torwards the sound of the crying.

"Mark!" Coach called out, he stopped and looked at him, "We ain't the kind to go looking for a fight, were just gonna avoid the "witch".

"Don' be a pussy." Mark giggled. Coach raised an eyebrow at the boy. Mark went back to walking.

"We supposed to follow him or somethin'?" Ellis asked.

"No." Nick said blankly, "We are not going to get killed just because some punk has something to prove. Were gonna keep looking for the evac, and getting the hell outta here."

The others nodded in agreement, and kept walking. As they headed for a large building in the center of the city. Rochelle turned for a moment at the sound of gunshots and yelling.

"Maybe we should go back for him..?" She asked.

"He made his choice, Ro. Theres nothing we can do for him." Coach answered.

They reached the enterance of the building. Nick grasped the door handle, but before he opened the door, Ellis turned and pointed.

"Hey guys, look!"

They turned and saw Mark, limping torwards them. Rochelle and Ellis ran to him and grabbed him as he fell.

"Mark! What the hell happened?" Rochelle asked.

"He he... she thought... she thought she was stronger than me..." Mark chuckled. His face dripping blood from a clawmark on his right cheek, he looked up, and saw something villainous. Demons gripped him and checked his body, their claws ripping his shirt open. Those people he was with had been infected.

Ellis lifted up Mark's ripped up shirt, seeing bloody clawmarks on his chest.

"He'll be OK, right?" Ellis asked.

"I... I don't know, sweetie." Rochelle looked at Nick and Coach, "Guys! He's really hurt! We need help."

Nick looked at Coach for a second, who nodded at the others. Nick jogged to the others, and helped Ellis pick Mark up by his shoulders.

They were carrying him off. Where were they taking him? Were they going to kill him? Mark didn't struggle, they might kill him if he did. He needed to get ahold of their weapons, and when the situation called for it, take them all down. They 5 walked in the building. It was 30 stories tall, and if they wanted to get to the top in time, they had to work fast.

Rochelle ran to the elevator, and pushed the button. She heard it lower.

"Guys, the elevator over here-" Her sound of hope was cut short at the sound of a loud crash on the other side of the elevator shaft.

"Looks like were taking the stairs." Coach said. They walked down the lobby. Chairs covered in blood, broken. The help desk was cracked and had a body laying on it. They headed to the stair door, which was next to the desk, when the sound of a door opening was heard.

"Hunter!" Ellis cried at the sight of the zombie leaping through the air after jumping through the doorframe. It through the sky, letting out a might cry as it leapt on Nick.

"Son of a!" Nick yelled as he was knocked to the ground. Mark and Ellis fell off balance, and they too fell to the ground. Mark yelled and squirmed at the sight. He didn't know what to do. Ellis started struggling for his handgun, but Mark's squirming detered him. As he got grip of his pistol, but Mark's fist hit his hand and set it flying. Coach ran to the Hunter and kicked it in the face. It was knocked of Nick and fell in front of him. Nick got up right away and shot bullet after bullet at the infected. It died at the first shot, but that didn't stop Nick. In the confusion, Mark grabbed Ellis' handgun, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Rahhhhhh!" Mark cried.

"Shut the fuck up!" Nick yelled.

"Nick!" Coach said in anger, "He's in shock, leave him alone."

Ellis helped Mark up, who looked back and forth at the four. He knew that the one in the suit was going to kill him, but the others stopped him. What were they planning? Rochelle looked at Mark. He was getting paler and paler. His eyes were dulling. They walked up the 1st flight.

"Ellis." Mark coughed, ""I'm feeling better now. Let me walk."

"Alright man, if you're sure." Ellis let go of his grip on the survivor and continued up to the second flight. Mark thought of what to do with them. He had no choice. They were infected, he had to kill them.

He heard the sound of growling, and knew it was time to make his move.

"Guys!" He yelled, "Their comin' up the stairs!"

"Shit!" Nick muttered.

"Listen, we need to keep moving. Keep runnin' and gunnin'!" Coach said as he sprinted up the stairs. Rochelle and Nick followed.

"Ellis!" Mark barked at the young boy. Ellis turned to his sick friend, "We gotta fight this horde, or they'll git us!"

"I dunno Mark." Ellis said looking up the stairs, "Coach said..."

"Forget what Coach said! Do what I say!" Mark yelled, "If we want to live, we have to fight this horde!"

"Look, if you wanna go git yourself killed, thats fine. I WANT to live. You wouldn't be all pale and shit if you didn't go out of your way to fight that Witch." Ellis sneered, and walked up the stairs.

"You lil' shit!" Mark yelled, pointing the gun at Ellis. Ellis turned, and held his hands up.

"Scream and you're dead."

"Mark! This ain't the time! The horde-"

"Don't you dare! This whole thing is a trap by you and your infected buddies! You want to kill me!"

"Mark.."

"Theres nothing you can say. Say goodbye."

Before Mark could pull the trigger, the footsteps from the inbound horde got louder. Mark laughed and ran up the limped up the stairs, Ellis went up with him, but Mark turned and kicked Ellis in the chest. Ellis fell down the stairs, crashing into infected. Ellis swung his arms and legs around, trying to the knock the zed away. He got up and tried to crawl away, but one grabbed his leg. Ellis let out a cry of fear. The others heard that cry. 

"Ellis!" Rochelle yelled. She ran back, bumping into Mark, "Mark! Wheres Ellis?"

"He stayed behind to hold them off. He said to go on wit' out him!"

"There ain't no way in hell were leaving him to die!" Coach yelled and ran down the stairs.

"Coach!" Nick yelled. Coach stopped and looked at him.

"Nick... he'd go back for you." He said blankly before going down the stairs. Rochelle looked at the Nick and Mark for a moment, and followed Coach. Mark gripped Nicks shoulder.

"We need ta get outta here."

Nick shrugged his hand off.

"I'm not leaving that kid to die." Nick looked at Mark with cold eyes, and he walked to the stairs. Mark didn't care, and limped to the stairs. Ellis kicked the infected that grabbed at him. He wasn't going to die here, he had to escape with the others. He saw Coach and Rochelle run down, shooting at the zed grabbing their friend. As Coach fired, Rochelle reached for Ellis' arm. Ellis grabbed her, and used her help to get up. Nick began to run down the flight and helped Coach fire at the horde. Ellis had gotten up and looked at the others.

"Nick's lost it! He kicked me down the stairs and left me here to die!"

"That little shit! I knew we couldn't trust him!" Nick yelled.

"Don't worry..." Coach yelled back, "He'll get whats comin' to him. The fired at the last of the horde.

"We've cleared enough of them!" Rochelle cried, "Lets go!"

They ran, shooting and killing the remaining infected.

Mark began to hack and slowing down. They were coming for him. He needed to get to the top, they were right behind him. He turned and aimed his pistol at the stairs. They ran up and saw the handgun and stopped. They all stood still.

"Well well well..." Mark looked at Ellis, "They actually went outta their ways to save ya. Dumbshits. If I'da went back for ma friends, I'd be one of them infected." He laughed.

"Listen to me you nut-job..." Nick growled.

"Whaddya gonna do? Tell me off? I'm the only one with the posistion to say what I want."

"Mark. This isn't right. You're sick. We can help you." Rochelle said quietly.

"You're the damn sick ones! You look like demons!"

"Mark, you're wrong. That Witch infected you. You're turning into one of-"

"Shut up!" Mark yelled, and he grabbed Rochelle by the wrist. He pulled her over and aimed his gun at her temple.

"Let 'er go!" Ellis yelled.

"Boy. You have no idea what you're doing!" Coach roared.

"I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm gonna do what man was made ta do. And you're gonna watch!"

He used his free hand to unbutton his pants. Ellis dashed at them and pushed Rochelle out of the way, she hit the wall. Ellis tackled Mark, who dropped the gun. Ellis began punching him in the face, over and over again. He grabbed Mark's collar and picked him up. Coach and Nick grabbed his arms.

"No!" Mark yelled, "Lemme go you fuckin' monsters!"

Rochelle began to tear up. She looked at the others, who each gave said they were sorry with their eyes. Nick punched Mark in the stomach. He spit blood, and laughed again.

"Ya'll don't know what yewr doing. Look at us. Wer fighting the livin' dead to go to some safe place that doesn't exist. We get to the top of the stairs and wait for a helicoptor that ain't coming? And you woman! You coulda help repopulate this world! Don't yall see? This is our chance to fix it all! We can raise the kids to fight wit' us! We can-"

Ellis punched him in the jaw.

"Mr," Ellis said, "You are out of it."

"Its the wounds." Nick said, "It's driving him crazy. He thinks WERE sick and he's normal. He'll be one of them soon."

They all looked at him.

"I'll do it." Ellis said.

"Ellis wait.." Rochelle said.

"After what he did to you, plus he tried ta kill me, it's gotta be done, whether he's infected or not."

He walked over and picked up the handgun. He aimed it at Mark's forehead.

"Ellis wait!" He yelled, "I'm sorry! About it all! It's the flu, I swear! It's makin' me like this! We can cure me, and I'll go back to normal. Please. Give me a chance."

"We gave ya that chance. We helped you after you tried to get yourself killed."

"You're sick Mark." Coach said, "With the disease and mentally."

Rochelle went to tears.

"Ellis.. please..." She said.

The three looked at her, and then at one another.

"Ro. What he did..." Nick murmered.

Mark squirmed out of Coach's grip and slapped Nick, who let him go from the shock. He charged at Rochelle.

_BANG!_

Mark fell to the ground, a bullet in right above his ear. Ellis' weapon released smoke as his lowered it. Rochelle slid against the wall to the ground. She hugged her legs and buried herself. Nick bent down and looked at her.

"Ro."

She looked at him, her eyes bloodshot, already in tears.

"It was something we had to do, alright?"

She nodded. He hugged her.

"Guys..." Coach said, "Lets go."

Ellis already went up the stairs, Coach following. Nick looked at Rochelle before standing up. He offered a hand, she held it as he helped her up. They walked up the stairs, no one spoke or even looked at one another.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Coach broke the silence.

"Are yall ready to get out of here?"

"I was ready from the start." Nick said.

"I think we earned this." Rochelle said, voice cracking.

Ellis nodded. They reached the door to the roof. They walked through the door, and saw the wide, empty roof. The sun was setting. They looked into the distance, tired and weak, and saw a helicoptor.

"Helloooooooo!" Ellis called, "Anyone up here?" 

"This is not happening.." Ro said to herself, "This is NOT happening..."

"Aren't they supposed to be saving our asses!" Coach growled.

Nick panted, "Looks like theres been a change of plans."

**Alrighty! It's done. I really really really want you guys to tell me what you think. I want to know if this rocked or sucked. But I digress, I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	15. Chapter 15

Death or Glory

**Hey guys! Sorry not to have update in a while, but I've been a little caught up. I got L4D 2 and Team Fortress 2 off Steam, and have been playing non-stop. If anyone wants to play a campaign or two, lemme know. And I wanted to let you guys know I'm accepting OC's, so send me a message with their profile and stuff. So I hope you guys enjoy Chapter 15. Happy reading.**

Chapter 15: Live together, or die alone

The four walked by the house they'd been staying in for a few days. Zoey stopped, and gave it a short look, seeing the blood stains and broken glass the infected and they had caused.

"Hey Zoey!" Francis called, waking her from her trance, "You comin' or did you wanna stay and remember the bad times?"

"Sorry about that." She said and went to catch up with the others. Louis hadn't spoken since they left the mall. He eyed his gun and the ground. He shouldn't have felt bad, he saved her misery. He hoped it was painless.

(Note: Louis had to execute a bitten survivor when we last left off. If you didn't know that, stop reading this chapter, slap yourself in the face, and go back to chapter 13. -Ed.)

Bill squinted to see some figures in the distance. It was a horde. They were ignoring the survivors, all dashing into an alley.

"Well thats weird." Bill thought to himself. He looked at Louis.

"Hey Louis, you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Just a little... tired, is all." He said, lying to the others and himself. They didn't know he killed Becca. They assumed she had died before they got there. It was a secret Louis would keep to himself.

They walked to the alley where Bill had seen the horde. Francis turned to it, and stopped in his tracks.

"Um... did WE do that?" He asked the others. The other three, confused, walked over to him to see what he was talking about. They were all shocked. Body parts, arms, legs, heads, were scattered across the alley, blood stains bathed the ground and walls and door to one of the buildings. Bill walked into the alley to give it more of an inspection.

"Whoever did this, they weren't using a gun." He deduced.

"No shit." Francis mused, "But where'd they go?"

"They must have gone through this door."

"You're detective work astounds me, old man."

"Francis." Zoey grunted, "Quit being a dick."

This caused Louis to chuckle, and Bill gave the biker a victory grin. Francis sneered, and walked through the door without a second thought.

"Hey! Jack the ripper!" Francis yelled into the building, "Nice handiwork you did out there!"

The building was large and empty, the build of a clothing store or something along that line. It was abandoned, no stock or sign of life. It'd make a good safehouse. Bill and the others walked in to see Francis calling out into the unknown.

"Francis, what the hell are you doing?" Louis asked.

"What? Their in here. I can tell."

"And how exactly, can you tell?" Zoey mused.

"I'm a cop."

"Bullshit." Bill coughed.

"Whatever. Can we just find this guy or something?"

The others agreed, and began the search. As they walked through the building, they noticed the silence. No one spoke, as not to attract any unknown infected. They reached the clerk's counter, seeing the enterance, without finding a thing.

"Damn." Zoey said, "They musta cut gone through the enterance and kept going or something."

"Maybe there was no one to follow to begin with." Francis thought aloud, "Hell, the old mans probably going senile or something."

"I don't know." Said Louis, "The limbs looked freshl-"

He was cut short as they noticed infected running as if they were chasing someone through the enterance's glass doors.

"C'mon!" Bill said, charging out the door, the others close behind. They saw the horde surrounding something, seeing blood fly around, not knowing the cause. Bill fired the first shot, hitting an infected in the back of the horde. As it fell to its death, the other zed took notice, and began charging the four, some staying behind to fight the original prey. The other three began to fire at the charging zombies, turning around to see something quickly closing in on them.

"Charger!" Zoey yelled. They ran to the sides as the huge fisted zed ran past them, hitting some of the common infected. It turned slowly, being shot in the back, and its weak arm. As it began its second attack, something jumped on its back. They raised a fireaxe in the air, as they tryed to avoid the Charger and common's grasp. It hit the charger in the top of the head, the blade of the axe piercing its skull. It fell forward, the person riding it down like a child's slide. As the Charger hit the ground, they began swinging their weapon at the surrounding infected.

"It's a survivor!" Bill yelled, "Don't shoot 'em!"

"Man, you're a real Captain Obvious today!" Francis joked as he fired his shotgun at an infected that stood right before him. As the last of the horde died off, the unknown survivor relaxed their stance. The four walked to the new blood casually. Their clothing made it difficult to tell their gender. A gas mask and balaclava hid their face, as a heavy trench coat and camo pants hid the body.

"Hey." Bill greeted, "Thanks for the help with the Charger, names Bill."

"Charger?" The figure asked. A man.

"That infected with the big arm." Louis clarified, "We named 'em since the infected seem to be changing. Hi, my names Louis. The tough guy is Francis, and this is Zoey."

"Sup?" Francis nodded.

"Nice to meet you." Zoey smirked.

"Jack." The man said.

"Well Jack, since you seem to be alone, why don't you come with us. Were headed to the evac point." Bill offered.

"Fine." Jack nodded, "Whatever gets me out of here."

Jack turned to begin walking, it was only then the four noticed the shotgun on his back.

"Nice weapon." Bill said admirily, "Trench shotgun, huh?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded, "It was my Dad's."

Bill walked up to the new survivor and began chatting with him, as the other three talked amounst themselves.

"Whaddya think?" Francis said, eyeing Jack.

"He isn't exactly the most talkative person I've ever seen, but he helped us with the Charger, so he's good in my book." Louis said.

"Whats with you? You're like Barney the dinosaur's vomit."

"Huh?"

"Always looking for the positive and good in stuff."

"It pays to have a positive outlook Francis." Zoey said, defending her friend, "And he's right, Jack DID help us with that Charger."

"It was a Charger! We've taken them before. Not like it was any different. I don't like him."

"Who DO you like Francis?"

"Anyone willing to share some booze."

Bill looked Jack oddly, causing Jack to look at him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Nothing, just curious to know why you're all armored up." Bill answered.

"These things bite you, you're on of them. Don't want to be one of them."

"Makes sense. Did you live here in Phillie when the infection broke out?"

"No. My Mom did. Any more questions?"

"Oh. Just wanted to get to know you is all." Bill sighed.

"Sorry. You guys are the first friendly faces I've seen in a while."

"I understand, but I assure you, were fine. Francis doesn't bite, just barks alot."

Jack chuckled a little. Bill smiled.

"Bill seems to like the new guy." Zoey thought aloud.

"I think he's trying to be friendly." Louis suggested.

"He wasn't friendly with ME." Francis pouted.

"Who would want to be?"

"Shut it."

"Hey guys!" Louis called, "You wanna call it a day? Look for a safehouse?"

"Feels like its been forever since I've gotten any rest." Zoey groaned.

"Yeah, good idea Louis!" Bill said.

Francis turned for a second to see a small hotel.

"How 'bout there?" He asked.

"I don't see why not." Bill suggested. The others shrugged and went inside. The building empty, with only a lobby and three rooms.

"I see we won't be living in luxury." Zoey pouted and walked to the room closest to the lobby. She went inside and shut the door.

"How come she gets her own room?" Francis asked.

"I can't believe you just asked that." Bill muttered. He and Louis walked to the second room. Francis looked at Jack for a moment, who looked back with cold, blue-green eyes.

"I guess were roommates." Jack said.

"So many obvious observations today." Francis said sarcastically as he walked to the door, Jack watched him and followed shortly after. Francis flopped on the ratty bed and streched out.

"Ahhh. A bed." Francis sighed.

"Who's pointing out the obvious now?" Jack joked as he removed his mask. He dropped it on the table, and began to remove the mask. His chin a small amount of stuble along with a flat top.

"Nice hair." Francis giggled.

"That makes one of us." Jack said coldly as he removed the trenchcoat and placed it on the chair, placed his weapons by the chair then pulled the it out and sat on it.

"I'm gonna go check to the see if the water works, if I don't come back, I'll be taking a shower." Francis pointed to the bathroom. Jack nodded and relaxed. He heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom, and sighed.

Zoey placed her weapons on the bed and sat on the corner of it. She thought back for a moment, to process the things she and her new friends had seen in the past few days. They risked their lives to help her, Especially Bill. They were almost like a second family she barely knew. And then a thought passed through her head, she barely knew these people. She might be with them for the rest of her life, she figured now was a better time than ever to talk to them. She walked out the door and walked to Bill's door. She knocked and heard Louis.

"Who's there?" 

"Its me, Zoey. Can I come in?"

"Go ahead."

She walked through the door and saw Louis looking through the nightstand, Bill half asleep on the bed. Louis pulled out a copy of the Bible from the stand and began skimming through it.

"Ya know, I never was a religious man, but ever since the infection broke out, I've been willing to read anything I got ahold of." He said to her.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you may be the smartest man alive, since all your competetion is dead." She chuckled.

(Note: No, this is NOT fluff. Sorry, just thought I'd point this out. -Ed)

"Ha! Thanks... I think."

She walked to the chair by the table and sat down.

"So what did you do before life as we knew it went to hell?" 

"I worked at an electronics store."

"Like Shaun?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. What'd you do?"

"Um... why so curious?"

"Just thought I get to know the people around me, I'd be asking the same questions to Bill if he was awake or Francis if he wasn't... Francis."

"And Jack?"

"I dunno. Something tells me there isn't much to know about the guy."

"Don't say that. We've known him for all of 20 minutes."

"I suppose you're right. But anyway..."

Louis got up and walked to the door.

"C'mon."

"Where are we going?"

"We must aswell get to know one another together, right?"

Zoey nodded, and followed him. Louis knocked on the door. No answer. He was about to knock again when Jack opened the door.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Hey Jack. We were just wondering if you and Francis wanted to talk?"

"Francis is in the shower. Come on in." He walked away from the door, letting the others come in. Jack went back to his chair as Zoey sat on the corner, and Louis relaxed on the wall.

"So uh, Jack... what'd you do before the infection broke out." Zoey asked..

"A..." Jack paused for a moment, "... A soldier."

"Oh cool, where'd you serve?" Zoey asked.

"Afghanistan. Shitty place."

"I could imagine. How long'd you serve there?"

"Can we talk about something else?"

Zoey withdrew for a second.

"Sorry.." She said.

"No, its fine. You were just asking a question. Just don't like to talk about it."

"Well I worked at an electronics store." Louis said.

"I was a college student, sort of." Zoey nodded at Louis.

"Sounds like you both were doing good."

"I guess, it wasn't very fun."

"Nothing rewarding is Zoey." Louis said.

"Yeah... you're right." She shrugged.

Louis looked at the shotgun on the wall. It was old looking, but taken well care of. Jack followed his eyes.

"It was my Dad's. Served in WW2." He said.

"I guess kick-ass-ness runs in your family." Zoey giggled.

"Yeah. I guess."

The water stopped from the bathroom.

"Oh god, if I see Francis' junk, I might shoot myself." Zoey groaned.

Jack and Louis laughed.

"Hey! Shut up!" Francis yelled from the John, "Most ladies would kill to see Francis jr and Steve!" 

"You named your testicles?" Zoey put her hands on her mouth.

"I wasn't the one to name 'em!"

"I can tell he's a pleasant experience." Jack mused.

"He's... an experience alright." Louis giggled.

Bill eyes grew heavier and heavier as the minutes passed by. His M-16 layed next to him, ready for combat if the zed broke in. It wasn't until now he'd noticed Louis and Zoey were gone. He didn't care, he was just tired. He wasn't this relaxed in days. He heard the giggling and chuckling fromt the others in the other room, but didn't pay much mind to it. He just wanted to enjoy the quiet moment.

He heard someone talking to him in the distance.

_"Get up soldier!" The liutenant yelled. Bill was holding his lifeless friends as the firefight went on without him. His CO pulled him up and handed him a rifle._

_"Theres a time and a place for everything private!"_

_"Yes sir!" Pvt. Overbeck yelled, turned and dashed into a nearby trench. It was good to be home._

**Alrighty! This chapters over! Hope you guys liked it, and I wanna thank Bravo918 for the idea of Jack, great character dude. What'd you guys think of him, leave a comment, and tell me what you think, and a round of applause for Bravo!**

**Until next time :)**


	16. Chapter 16

Death or Glory

**Hey guys. It's me again, here to tell you stories of zombies and shotgun shells. it's 1 am, a perfect time to write this bad-boy. Right? I'm trying my best not to put to much detail into one specific character and balance them all, everyones the main character 3. Hard to pull off, but totally do-able. But enough stalling, it's chapter 16, baby!**

Chapter 16: Something worth fighting for

"Oh sweet!" Francis said as he looked around the small closest, "I found the mini-fridge! And it's got booze!"

"Why is there a mini-fridge in the closet?" Louis asked.

"Who cares, Louis? BEER!" He walked out holding a few cans. He handed one to each of the others, Francis being the first one to open his and take a large sip, "Ah! You gotta love liquid courage!"

Zoey opened hers, but before she could take a sip, she was cut off.

"Zoey? How old are you?" Louis asked.

"Um... 19..." She said grimmly.

"Louis, give her a break." Francis said in-between sips, "America doesn't exist anymore, were free to do whatever we please."

"Fine... I guess."

Zoey took the her first sip, wishing it was under better circumstances. It tasted weird. An aquired taste if anything. Jack opened his next, taking a sip. Louis placed his on the table and crossed his arms.

"Not a drinker?" Jack asked.

"Not really." Louis answered.

"Now that we have our refreshments, back to our little conversation." Zoey pointed out.

"Ask away." Francis said.

"Whats with all the tattoos?" Jack asked Francis, almost out of the blue.

"Whaddya mean? There tattoos. They make me look like a badass."

"I think they make you look like an asshole." Zoey said.

"Pfft. I can already tell you were a total goody-two shoes. Never did a bad thing in your life."

"Well, um..."

"Exactly!" Francis burst out laughing, "When I was 19, I did whatever the hell I wanted. Smoked, drank, the whole nine yards. Hell I bet you're still a virgin!"

Zoey finched at the word, and took a small sip of her beer.

"Low blow." Said Jack.

Louis nodded. Francis shrugged.

"Fine! I'm sorry, virgin." He smirked.

"Bite me." Zoey growled.

"Alright, guys." Louis, ever the voice of reason, tried to point out, "Don't want to wake Bill up anyway. I think I'm gonna call it a night." He said as he got up.

"I think I'm going to go too." Zoey shrugged.

"Night." Jack said.

"See ya in the am." Francis smiled. They two left the room, leaving Jack and Francis in the room together. 

"Well don't you have a way with women." Jack sighed as he flopped on the bed.

"Women? Please. If anything she's still a girl." Francis said, looking at the door.

"May be the only 'girl' left." Jack mumbled as he closed his eyes.

"Oh! Are you seriously going to make me take first watch?"

"Night badass."

Francis looked at the door for what seemed like forever, the sound of Jack snoring the only sound he heard. He wanted to sleep so bad, but the otheres were just going to get mad at him. They already didn't like as is. He looked into his pockets. A pack of gum with three pieces left, two quarters, four shotgun shells and some lint. The shotgun had six shells left in it. Ten shots. He eyed Jack's shotgun. He coughed and looked down at the ground.

"Agh!" He heard from behind him. It was Jack. He sat straight up, in a sweat.

"Whats'a matter pickle thief? Bad dream?" Francis asked.

"Yeah. You could say that. You want me to take watch?"

"Um... yeah, sure." Francis got up from the chair, as Jack got up from the bed, switching places.

"Try not to dream about Zoey." Jack giggled.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Francis barked.

"Not a damn thing."

Francis scoffed, rolled over, and closed his eyes.

It didn't take long for Francis to fall asleep. His heavy snoring annoyed Jack. He decided he didn't like Francis very much. Kind of an asshole, but a useful asshole. He stood up and walked to the door. He opened it slowly and walked outside. The dead night was amazing. The skies free of pollution, as the stars shined brighter than any gem. He looked out into the sky, letting out a sigh. All he heard was growling and monsters.

He turned to the door, and prepared to go back inside, but before he reached the door.

"J-Jack?"

_"Left side! Left side!" Corpral Markins cried, firing his weapon at the enemy. turned to see the Vietnamese soldiers firing at him and his squad. He let out a loud cry before firing at the ambush party. A soldier ran to Overbeck's side. He looked at him, his eyes full of fear._

_"Louis?" He asked. The man turned and opened his mouth, but was stopped by a stray bullet flying through his head. The man fell over dead._

_"No!" Overbeck yelled._

_"Medic!" Another man yelled. Overbeck turned to see a woman running through the soldiers. She was small, covered in cuts and bruises, wearing a helmet bearing the red cross. Overbeck recognized her._

_"Zoey! Stay back! Please!" He yelled. She ran over to him, inspecting the fallen soldier._

_"He's gone!" She yelled._

_"Rameriez! Get up there and help Overbeck!" Markins yelled. A young soldier ran by Overbeck. He wore a heavy beard, giving a gruff, mean look at the enemy._

_"Francis..." Overbeck thought. The medic got up out of the trench, but fell as a bullet went through her shoulder._

_"Zoey!" He raised his arm out for her._

_"Hey old man! Pay attention to the fight!" Rameriez yelled. An object fell into the trench, catching both by surprise._

_"Grenade!" Rameriez yelled, grabbing it. He threw it, but it was too late. It exploded mere inches from his face, knocking them both back. Rameriez hit the back of the trench, dead. Overbeck was knocked to the side. He looked up to see the barrel of many Vietnamese rifles._

_"Nooooooo!"_

Bill let out a cry as he awoke from his slumber. He returned to the hellish reality, to find himself in the dark room he began to sleep in from the start. Louis was snoring on the chair. Surprising considering how loud he yelled. He blunk his eyes and rubbed them. These dreams of warfare were getting odd. At first they were dreams of the past, losing Richard, the battle, but that was... different. He looked at the door, and could hear people talking. It wasn't any of his business anyway. He relaxed himself a bit, and closed his eyes.

"Zoey?" Jack asked, "What're you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. I guess you took over Francis' shift?" She asked.

"Yeah. You don't like him very much, do you?"

"He's like a big brother. An annoying, douchebaggy, big brother. I learn to deal with him."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying. I guess I'll get used to him too."

"What about the others? And me? Trust me, we aren't as bad as him."

"You guys seem nice, I suppose, but I've only known you for a few hours, so that isn't saying much."

"Yeah, alright. Good to have you aboard." She put her hand out for him. He grabbed, and shaked.

(Again, not fluff. I'm all for OC's and all, don't get me wrong, not so much for OC pairing with real characters. Sorry :P)

"Well, I better get back to watch, you go get some sleep, it'll be daytime soon."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Night." She walked to her room and went inside.

**Waaa! But Tazer, there wasn't any action in this chapter! We wanna see zombies explode and stuff! If you're thinking that right now, let me just say this was a character development chapter, sort of. Mostly about character interaction and Bill's little 'Nam flashback dream-thingy for good measure. So thats all she wrote for now, but I'll be updating soon, so no worries. Leave a comment, please :D I'll be your best friend?**

.


	17. Chapter 17

Death or Glory

**Guys, I am typing this while in rage. An error I'd rather not go into made me delete the entire DoG series, making me upload the entire thing all over again, losing comments from some of my favorite writers on this site. I am dissapoint to have to start from scratch, but hell, I'll bounce back... Lets just get Chapter 17 started... I need a hug...**

Chapter 17: Or die trying.

"I can't believe this!" Coach yelled for what seemed to be the millionth time, "Their leaving us here to die! Argh!"

They sat in the safehouse they had found shortly after leaving the skyscraper, camping out for a day and a half. It was a small rest-stop, they had found searched the nearby apartments and found a single one untouched by the horde. It was dirty and smelled horribly. The bed was soiled in a strange liquid, a closet covered in dirty clothes and food wrappers, and a small TV on top of a box were the only notable things in the room. Ellis sat on the bed as the other three tried to avoid it.

"I know, it sucks. Were just going to get out of here on our own terms." Nick pointed out.

"Nick's right... for once. Whats the plan?" Rochelle agreed and asked.

"Um... I don't know..."

"Well walkin' out ain't an option, considering how we don't know where to go or how far away it is." Coach pondered.

"I gotta plan." Ellis said cheerfully.

"Oh goody, Overalls has a plan."

"Well, ya'll ever play that game Dead Rising?"

The three looked at him blankly, not one of them knowing what he was talking about.

"Well, um, in the game, the guy is trapped in all mall with zombies and stuff, and uses the stuff to make other stuff and get out."

"Ellis sweetie..." Rochelle sighed, "I don't understand what the plan is."

"We should go to the mall and get some supplies and stuff, maybe we'll find a way out there!"

"Pfft." Nick scoffed, "Thats the dumbest thing I ever heard. We can't risk our lives over the plot of a video game."

"Well we don't seem ta be form-ya-latin' any other sorta plan."

Nick rubbed his forehead, and knew the kid was right. Coach processed the idea for a moment as Rochelle looked at Ellis with a look of surprise.

"Alright, Ellis." Coach grinned, "Whada we got ta lose?"

"Our lives?" Nick pointed out.

"Nick, would it kill you to be a little more positive?" Rochelle asked the con-man.

"No, but Ellis' plan might." He said as he grabbed his weapons, "If were doing this, were doing it now. I want to get out of here ASAP."

The others nodded, and prepared for the journey. In a matter of minutes, they were out the door, and the first canon campaign began... I mean... Uh... Kiddy Land?

They walked out the front door of the aparment and looked around. All was quiet. Nick shrugged and took lead. The four took this moment of peace to converse.

"So ya'll..." Ellis began, "I wanna tell you 'bout this dream I-"

"So anyway, wheres this mall Coach?" Nick asked, cutting the young man off.

"Not too far, lucky for us, theres a gun shop and a few other spots we can use." Coach answered.

"Alright, sounds good." Rochelle grinned, "Ellis, were you saying something?"

Ellis eyes opened wide when Rochelle asked him the question.

"Um... nah. It wasn't nothing. No worries, jus' a crazy dream I had." He chuckled. Rochelle raised an eyebrow.

"C'mon Ellis," Coach chuckled, "Tell us 'bout your dream."

Ellis blushed. He regreted even mentioning the dream to begin with. He wasn't ready to talk about the dream girl yet. He looked down to the floor and tried to avoid talking from this moment onward about the dream.

"So wheres this gunstore?" Rochelle asked their fearless leader.

"Not too far from here. A few blocks if I'm correct." Coach responded.

The conversation stopped from the loud gurgling sound from behind them. They turned. A female infected, drooling a strange green liquid and a long neck. Nick recognized it.

"Guys get away! That thing-" Nick tried to yell, but it was too late. The infected fired its liquid and it hit Nick, as he was in front and splashed around him. It began burning through his clothes, making contact to skin.

"Agggggghhhh!" Nick yelled, falling to his knees. The others backed up to avoid the goo. They began firing at the infected, Rochelle being the one to hit it. It fell back, dead. Nick began itching his skin, muttering swear words. The goo began to lose its heat, and Rochelle ran to him.

"Nick! Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I-I'm fine..." He got back to his feet.

"Look!" Ellis yelled. Horde inbound. More than they'd ever seen before. A large figure was behind the horde.

"Oh shit!" Coach yelled, "They gotta Tank!"

It began running through zed, charging at it's enemy. The four turned and began to hightail it, firing as they ran. Zombies in the front began to fall, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

"We don't have enough bullets for all of them!" Nick yelled. They stopped shooting and focused on running.

"Left! Turn left!" Ellis yelled when they reached a fork in the road. With no time to argue, they complied, as did the zed. The Tank was slowly but surely gaining on the four, each step was a bound compared to the regular infected. Coach was running the slowest, given his age and weight, being much older and heavier compared to the others, with Ellis in front. The Tank was reaching Coach. It raised it's massive arm to prepare and strike the man.

"Coach!" Rochelle cried, "Look out!" She fired at the beast, causing it to slow down to block the bullets. Coach tried to run faster, but quickly began slowing down to catch his breath. The horde was closing in on the group. Nick stopped to fire and yelled at Coach:

"Coach! We don't have time for this! Get to running or get to dying!"

He fired at the horde, knocking three over. He pulled the trigger one last time, and not one bullet came out. Coach began running again, breathing heavily. The Tank began to speed up once again. The streets they ran on were covered in bodies and blood, each building they passed by only seemed to get bigger and bigger.

"There it is!" Ellis pointed, and sure enough, they were closing in on the gunstore. Ellis began sprinting, Rochelle close behind, having Nick and Coach almost jog.

"Gettin' old sucks." Coach panted.

Ellis and Rochelle reached the door, running inside, a few moments later, the other two got inside as well. Nick shut the large metallic door. The infected reached the door and began hitting it door. A large crash was heard on the other side, more than likely the Tank running face first into the safehouse door.

"Damn." Rochelle said, catching her breath, "That door must be indestructible."

They all turned and saw the amazing arsenal before them. Loads of shotguns, pistols, and rifles were on display. Ellis smashed one of the glass barricades with his rifle, grabbing an AK-47.

"I been wantin' one a these rifles since I was nine!" He said cheerfully.

Rochelle began looking through the weapons, looking for one that fit her taste. She picked up a chrome shotgun, and placed her finger on the trigger. It felt right. She looked around, and sure enough, found tons of shells in behind the counter. Coach grabbed an M-16 and looked over at Nick, who was pressing buttons on the cash register. It made a ding sound, and opened. He grabbed the bills, and coins, stuffing them in his pocket. He finally looked over to Coach, who was giving him a stern look. Nick groaned and went back to the weapons search.

Ellis was grabbing weapons left and right. He still had the hunting rifle and the AK-47, but he had also grabbed a combat shotgun and a sub-machinegun.

"Ellis." Coach said, "Only carry the essentials."

"But these ARE the essentials, Coach. See, I'll use this shotgun if the zombies get close, this AK when their at mid-range, and the rifle at long range, and this thingy (SMG) 'll be my sidearm.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me if you can-

"EXCUSE ME!" Was said by a loud, booming voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing, "What exactly do you think you're doing with my weapons!"

They finally noticed the intercom near the cash register. It was the voice of an old man. Obviously the owner of the gunshop. 

"Listen old man!" Nick began, "There are zombies out, giant zombies with fists bigger than a fucking mini-van. I really hope you don't mind we borrow your toys!"

There was silence in the room. Rochelle gave Nick a stern look, and Nick gave the: The fuck I do? look.

"Fine, you scratch your back, I'll scratch yours. How 'bout it?"

"What'd you have in mind?" Coach asked.

"Theres a little supermarket next door, its where I go to get my favorite cola brand, cola-cokea. You get me a six pack, I'll let you have all the weapons you want."

"You're not exactly in a position to make demands." Nick scoffed.

"Oh, I do, this intercom has a built in horn that I can use to alert every zombie from a 10 mile radius to this very spot. Hell, I'll butter the deal up for ya, see that eight-teen wheeler down blocking the road?"

Rochelle looked out the window, and to her surprise, there was a large, eightteen wheeler blocking the road. It was carry gasoline.

"Yeah, what about it?" She asked.

"You're heading to the mall, ain't ya? Only place I can think you'd be headed to. That things blocking yer path, I'll take care of it for ye."

They all exchanged looks.

"Theres a door with a mail spot right next to the back door. You have 10 minutes to get me my cola before sound the alarm. Starting... NOW!"

"For fucks sake!" Nick yelled.

"C'mon, lets move!" Coach said, they all ran to the back exit. They ran through the door and saw the supermarket down to a hill. It'd be easy, not even a zombie in sight. The began to run down the hill.

"Raaaaaaahhhhhh!" They heard from behind them. Mid-air Hunter flying at them, he must have jumped off the roof of the gunstore. It landed on Nick, who fell frontwards and the two began rolling down the hill.

"Nick!" Rochelle yelled, chasing after the ball of ball of people, Ellis and Coach right behind. No one dared to shoot in fear of hitting Nick. They finally rolled to the bottom of the hill, landing infront of the parking lot. The Hunter fell off Nick. It slowly began to get up, as it rose, Nick shot it in the chest with the shotgun he picked up from the gunshop, sending it flying a few feet before hitting the ground dead. Nick got up quickly and ran to the supermarket. He opened the door, but was knocked back by a great force.

"Charger!" Ellis yelled as the three reached the bottom of the hill. It began slamming Nick into the floor.

**Sorry Nick fans! I know you don't like to see the con-man violently abused... /3**

After the second slam, he's comrade shot the creature down. Nick sat on the floor with the dead zed.

"I fucking hate this!" He pouted. Coach offered a hand to help him up. He accepted, and was lifted up by the man.

"I'll go get the cola!" Ellis yelled, and began jogging to the store. He walked in, letting the other three guard the outside. Ellis ran through the doors, holding the cola in his hands. He ran past the three, as they turned to look at the door. Several infected ran out the door after Ellis. The other three began running aswell.

"Can't ONE thing go according to plan!" Rochelle said as she ran up hill.

"That would be too easy!" Nick yelled back.

Ellis reached the top of the hill and ran to the door with the mail slot. He placed the six-pack in the slot and shut it.

"Haha!" The old man said, "I knew you kids wouldn't let me down! A deals a deal!"

They looked to the semi, and in a matter of seconds, it transformed into an amazing explosion. Fire and metal fell to the sky as the infected and survivors alike were knocked to the ground by the sheer force of the blast. The infected quickly got up, as the sitting survivors gunned them down. As the last infected fell, the four got up and looked at the mess they had caused. They collected themselves and thanked the old man.

"Much obliged, mister. Thanks for all the help!" Ellis said kindly.

"The pleasure is all mine!" The man said, as the sound of the a bottle being opened was heard in the background, "Cheers!"

The four looked at one another.

"Can we please GO now?" Nick grunted.

Rochelle let out a sigh of relief and turned away and walked down the hill, the others followed.

"So..." Ellis began, "Who wants to hear the story 'bout my Keith and me going to Kiddy land last month?"

**All is done. So now that this bad boy is outta the way, leave a comment and tell me what ya think. Until next time...**


	18. Chapter 18

Death or Glory

Chapter 18: If you're out there

"Well there it is..." Coach said.

They all looked at the mall, the last possible place for supplies or salvation. The four looked around them, seeing the bodies and crashed cars. It was a warzone, quiet and cold. A few bodies lay infront of the enterance, all running to the enterance. Nick kicked the body closest to him to see claw marks and bite marks on the front of his body. He must have been immune. They must have all been immune. Ellis was the first to walk through the door, holding it open for the others. As they walked in, darkness bathed the building. The power was off. The four turned their flashlights on, seeing the ripped clothing and broken maniquins. The sound of growling and chewing was heard all around him.

"Ya'll ready?" Coach asked.

"Yessir." Ellis said, playing with the brim of his hat.

"Y-yeah." Rochelle said calmly.

"Were dead." Nick sighed.

They dashed forward, hearing sounds or growling turned to roars and cries. Footsteps all around them. They fired into the unknown, unaware if they were hitting anything. As they rushed through the large room, hints of light were exposed on the other side of the room. A pounce was heard, as a Hunter landed infront of them. Rochelle aimed her weapon at it, but by the time the flash reached the spot, the hooded infected was gone. Coach was knocked back, the Hunter crashing into him.

"Dammit! Get it offa me!" He cried.

Nick charged at Coach, and punted the zed off of him. It landed beside him, attempting to recover. Nick shot it point-blank. Nick helped Coach up.

"We can sleep when were dead! Lets go!"

In a matter of seconds, the unit was back in motion. They ran to the light. Skylight. It was feint, as the sun was close to setting. They looked around, and saw an elscalator.

"Down! Go down!" Rochelle yelled as she ran. They reached the escalator, now a flight of stairs, and sprinted down. Zed coming from both sides. They fired at both sides, each side growing weaker and weaker. Even during the skirmish, the survivors ran down the stairs. They defeated the last infected on the bottom flight and ran through.

"C'mon! C'mon, lets go!" Ellis yelled.

As they shot around them, the thought of having no idea what they were up against was terrifying. Not knowing when the last one would die, and if they even had enough bullets.

"Agggggghhhhh!" They heard in the distance. It was another survivor. Rochelle looked back, where the sound was coming from. She walked to it, until a hand grabbed her shoulder. Nick.

"What're you doing? We have to-"

"Ro, we don't have time for this. Whatever that was, its dead now."

"Nick! Thats a living person! We can't leave them to die!"

"May I remind you, that every living person we've met in the last few days has tried to kill us! Bertram? Mark? Ring a bell?"

Rochelle shook Nick off of her. She jogged to the sound. The three looked at one another. Ellis followed her.

"Are you serious? It's a waste of time!" Nick said in disbelief.

"Nick." Coach said, "We have to give them a chance. What if me and Ellis had left you to die the day we met?"

Nick looked at the ground. He knew Coach was right. The two followed the others.

The screaming turned into gunshots.

"Yeah! That all you got! C'mon! There ain't enough zombies in the world ta kill me!" It was a woman's voice.

"She sounds like she's havin' fun." Ellis chukled. They reached the room the fight was coming from. Ellis kicked the door open. A woman sat in the corner next to several dead infected. She looked at them with a strange smirk.

"Well looky here. Theres other people around just like me!" She almost yelled. She looked at Ellis, "Men even..." She cooed. She was his age, short red hair with freckles. Her teeth dirtier than her clothes.

Ellis flinched at her remark. She walked over to him and looked him.

"My names Charolette. Whats yours?"

He felt her breath on his face. It was a disgusting smell. It was worse than the smell of a dead body.

"Uh, my names Ellis, this here is my friend Rochelle." He stepped back. Nick and Coach arrived on the seen, happy that they found another survivor.

"Oh good. You're alive." Nick looked awkwardly, "OK lets go."

Rochelle looked at Ellis who looked more afraid of Charolette than any zombie they'd seen.

"This is Nick and Coach, our friends." Rochelle said.

"Yeh, thats nice." Charolette said, eyes never leaving Ellis.

"Um... alright... lets go then..." Nick said, walking away.

"Hey Nick!" Ellis yelped, "Wait for me!" He chased after the con-man.

"I already know who I'm repopulating with." Charolette said to Rochelle.

"Charming." Rochelle sneered as she walked away. Coach raised an eyebrow at the new blood, turned and walked away.

They jogged through the darkness. They stopped at the sound of a spit. The bright goo landed infront of Nick. He saw the Spitter on the second story.

"Spitter!" He yelled.

"What the hells a Spitter!" Charolette asked.

Nick shot the infected, and in three shots, it fell dead. Ellis looked around and stopped. He saw something amazing. The greatest invention ever made, not 200 yards away.

"Holy shit guys!" He said, "It's Jimmy Gibbs Jr's stock car!" he pointed at the vechile. It layed parked in all its glory, untouched by the infected. Even they knew it was amazing.

"Great. Lets keep going." Nick shrugged.

"No! Don't ya see?" Ellis said, "We can use that car to drive out in style!"

"I like the plan "Ellis"." Charolette said, putting her hand on his back. He shifted forward, standing next to Coach.

"I don't think it's got any gas Ellis." Coach sighed.

"Yeah well... theres gas cans piled around for just such an occasion." Ellis said, pointing at a nearby jug.

"Alright then." Nick said in disbelief.

"Heres da plan." Coach began. "Three a us'll go around and get the cans, two'll guard the car and put the gas in the tank. Me Ellis and Nick'll get the cans. Lets go."

The others nodded, and split up. Rochelle and Charolette stood by the car.

"So what were you doing here anyway?" Rochelle asked.

"Heard CETA was rescuing people here. Came here three days ago, nothing like dat at all. Thought everyone else was dead."

"Oh."

"Glad ya'll found me though. I'da died here if you hadn't." 

"You seemed to fight the zombies off pretty well."

"They'da got me soon. 1 vs 1000, don't like dose' odds."

"Understandable. But whats with all the flirting with Ellis?"

"Look at the guy. He's drop dead sexy."

Rochelle raised an eyebrow. It was hard to see Ellis, someone so immature and young to be sexy. He was almost a little brother.

"Um... yeah, I guess."

"Why? You and him aren't doin' any-"

"NO!"

"Oh, then whats the problem?"

"No problem, you just don't seem like hi-"

They were cut short as the first can fell by them. Charolette ran and picked it up. She poured the gas in it into the tank and tossed the can aside.

"Keep 'em coming boys!" She yelled.

The "boys" were on the second floor, running around, grabbing cans. Infected began pouring through the windows and doors. A mini-horde ran through Coach. He slammed the first one he saw with the butt of his gun. It fell to the ground as the infected surrounded him. He hit them as they circled him, not having enough elbow room to shoot.

"Ellis!" Nick yelled, while holding a can, "Help Coach!"

"Gotya!" He yelled back, running to Coach's aid. He fired at the infected around the man. A few fell dead. Ellis kicked one in the back, they flailed around hitting infected left and right. Nick tossed another can to the bottom floor, Rochelle ran to pick it up. Coach struggled to get ahold of himself, Ellis grabbing him. 

"Thanks!" Coach laughed.

"Don't mention it!" Ellis nodded.

Nick ran to the next can, all between him and the can was a bridge seperating the sides. He ran to through it. As he got to the halfway point, a large figure ran on at him. Charger. It ran at him, catching Nick by surprise. It smacked him in he face with it's massive arm, knocking him to the side. His hip hit the side of it, the impact knocking him over. As he fell, the side with his left hand.

"Nick!" Rochelle yelled. The Charger ran at the other two. Nick's grip began to weaken. "Little help here!" Coach shot at it, hitting it in the face. It was fell dead. Ellis ran to the bridge. Nick's hand released the side, he began to fall. He closed his eyes in yelled. He didn't feel the cold floor breaking his spine. He opened his eyes and looked up. Ellis gripped his hand with both of his.

"I got ya!" Ellis struggled. He pulled Nick up with all of his strength. Nick got to his feet. Ellis patted his shoulder.

"Don't fall again, kay?" Ellis smirked.

"Way to go Ellis!" Rochelle cheered.

"Nice one Ellis!" Charolette said oddly.

No time to celebrate, Nick ran for the final can. He grabbed it and tossed it over his shoulder. It fell to the floor, Rochelle running over to it and picked it up. The three on the second floor ran to the stairs. Nick was the last to reach the stairs. He tripped on the second step, as a large object flew over him. He turned back, a large chunk of cement hit the wall. A Tank dashed at him from the other side of the room. He ran down the stairs with the others, trying to avoid getting close to it.

Rochelle poured the last can in as she waited for the others. Ellis was the first to reach the car. He ran to the driver's side and smashed the glass with his gun. He unlocked the door and went inside. He began to mess with the wires in the car, and after a few seconds, the engine began to roar.

"Get in get in!" He yelled.

The other four dashed in, Coach in shotgun. The Tank closed in, already near the car. Ellis hit the exhaust, and the car began to move. It picked up speed, the Tank close behind. It slammed through the enterance, hitting infected guarding it. The five cheered as they drove through the glass and through the parking lot. Charolette, who sat behind Ellis, placed her arms on his chair.

"You did GOOD today sweetie." She said quietly.

"Uh... thanks..." He replied, not even looking at her.

"Ellis. Lemme ask you something." Nick said.

"Shoot."

"Why'd you help me? After all the trouble I've caused..."

"Nick, you're my buddy. And I never let my buddies down. So I can help it, I'll keep ya'll alive as best I can."

Rochelle grinned at the young man. She was proud of him. Today changed him a little.

"We all did good today." Coach said, rubbing his stomach. "Now where do you think we can get a cheeseburger around here.

"Hahahahaha!" Ellis laughed, almost like he was acting.

"Ellis, the hell was that?" Coach asked.

"Oh, it wuz one of those tv laughs, where at the end of the episode, someone says something wacky and they all burst out laughin'."

"Ellis... sweetie, you're an odd one." Rochelle chuckled.

"So where are we headed anyway?" Nick asked.

"New Orleans." Coach said.

"Why there?"

"Theres something I gotta check there. Hope ya'll are alright with that."

"Fine with me." Ellis smirked.

"Lets do it." Rochelle agreed.

"Where Ellis goes, I go." Charolette said.

"OK, this chick is starting to creep me out." Nick pointed at Charolette, "But sure man, do what you gotta do."

"Then it's decided." Coach nodded.

"Yee-haw!" Ellis cried, "Road-trip!"

As the car drove into the distance, the sun began to fall. It would be dark soon. But now, the real adventure for these survivors begins...

**I didn't really like this one. Wonder what you guys'll think. As always, I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I did making it. Charolette sure is creepy, huh? Until next time...**


	19. Chapter 19

Death or Glory

Chapter 19: I'll sleep when I'm dead

"I can't believe this.." Francis muttered next Louis is they kept watch infront of a small conveinience store, "Were stopping our escape effort to kill the old man faster."

"Now Francis..." Louis began, "Were living in a stressful time right now, and cigarettes are Bill's way of calming down."

"He can smoke when were not getting stalked by fucking zombies!"

Louis opened his mouth to say something, but didn't. He fiddled with his pistol and look through the glass door to check on the others.

"I don't see any Bill." Zoey said as she looked around the cash register.

"Dammit, c'mon.." Bill sighed.

"Hey Bill." Jack said as he walked through the bathroom door, "I found something you may like. Jack held a cigar and handed it to Bill.

"You found this in the men's bathroom?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, but not the way'd you think. I found it on a non-infected dead guy."

"Maybe it's because of the mask.." Zoey interrupted, "But did you say un-infected dead guy? He still had all his limbs?"

The man nodded. Zoey and Bill looked at one another.

"He had some bite and scratch marks. There was surely a struggle. Whatever he fought killed him and left." Jack added.

"Thats weird, I thought zombies ate flesh." Zoey said slowly. She walked to the bathroom to see it herself. Bill pulled out his lighter after placing the cigar in his mouth. He lit and, and took a long huff from it. First smoke in days.

Zoey found the body Jack was talking about. He was right, there was a fight. It was a male, medium height and build. No nearby weapons. Curious, Zoey looked through his pockets. She found a wallet and a cell phone. She opened the wallet, and to her surprise, the man had several large bills, 3 hundreds and five fifty dollar bills, along with a drivers liscense and a few credit cards. She put the wallet in her pocket and began looking through the phone. She found it had two new messages.

Message 1: Al, where r u? Shits hittin the fan bro. Call mi when u get this.

Message 2: Go 2 the hospital, the armys going to pik up survivors.

She looked through and found one voicemail. Before listening to it, she walked out the door to Bill & Jack.

"Guys. Check this out."

A cold wind hit Francis and Louis. It was getting colder and colder every minutes.

"Bet you wish you were wearing more than a leather vest." Louis chuckled.

"Eat me 9 to 5." Francis growled.

"Easy man. I'm just joking, why are you so mean?"

"Why are you so nice?"

**I smell a sitcom! :D**

"Al..." The voice on the phon began. A woman's voice, "Al... Derek's dead. One of them jumped on him and ripped him apart. He never had a chance... oh God..."

She was crying. They couldn't blame her. Not one of the three spoke or looked at anything but the phone.

"Me, Roger and the others are going to the hospital. The armies picking up survivors there. Al... please be OK... please. I'm so scared..." She began mumbling things they couldn't understand, "Al... I love you. Please... if you get this, please call me... I couldn't go on if... Do you guys hear that? Someones out there...

"Look over there. Theres a little girl." Said a male voice.

"Oh my god... sweetheart!" Another female, "Over here!" The voice grew distant, "Hey! Are you al- AGHHH!"

They hear a large cry. Many people began screaming.

"What the hell is-"

The call ended there. The three looked at one another.

"It's our only chance." Bill said. The others nodded. Bill puffed out smoke and waked to the door. He walked through, cutting off Francis and Louis' conversation.

"The armies rescuing people at the hospital. Who knows where it is?"

"She was probably talking about the general hospital." Zoey answered, "It's not far from here."

"Lead on." Bill said, gripping his weapon. Zoey took front from there. They walked down the street, always hearing growling and roaring in the distance. Francis paused after hearing a large growl.

"They're getting close." He said, turning around. Common infected began pouring into the streetm chasing down the survivors. The five fired at the masses, knocking a few off their feet. As the infected got close, the survivors turned and ran down the streets. As some of the common began to close in, Bill began barking orders.

"Jack! Francis! Stay in back to fire at the infected that get close with your shotguns, Louis! Cover them! Me and Zoey will watch the front!

"How come she gets to-" Francis began to detest.

"Shut up and shoot!" Jack yelled. The common that got close met the pellets of the shells. They approached a fork in the road.

"Left gets us there faster! Go left!"

The five shifted to the left of the road and logically, turned left. The horde followed. Louis looked up to the rooftops. A group of Hunters followed them, five or six of them. It was like some kind of pack. Louis fired at the pack, but his aim and the gun he used caused bullets to fly past them and hit the building. The others turned to see what he was shooting at and saw the Hunter pack.

"What the hell...?" Zoey muttered. The Hunters began leaping off the building, gliding at the survivors. They continued to run and shoot at the new enemy. One of the Hunters was shot in the air and fell to the ground. They followed the survivors in the chase, along with the horde. They began leaping at them. Jack holstered his shotgun and grabbed his axe. One of the Hunter's leaped at him. He stopped dead in his tracks and followed it with his eyes. He cocked his weapon back, and released it forward as the Hunter's claws were in reach. His blade met the Hunter's face. It sliced downward, causing skin, bone and blood to fly outward. The Hunter fell to the ground. Jack turned and followed the others. The remaing Hunter's followed with the horde, who were still dying off from the bullets.

"I see it!" Zoey pointed ahead, seeing the sign of the hospital, a large green cross with the words Mercy Hospital next to it. The survivors ran faster than ever. They ran past a few ambulances, still shooting. The last of the horde had died off, only the Hunter's remained. Francis turned.

"Francis! What the hell are you doing?" Bill yelled.

"We can take them!" Francis yelled, firing at the infected. He hit on of the Hunter's in the shoulder, ripping it's jacket arm, exposing tumors and boils. The Hunter let out a cry and backed away. The other Hunter's backed away as well. Francis aimed his weapon.

"Francis wait." Jack stopped him, putting his hand on the barrel.

"The hell are you doing?"

"Look at them. They're scared. Why do you think they aren't attacking?"

"Oh, not this 'Zombies are our friends bullshit!' These things were trying to rip us a new one not too long ago."

"You'd be wasting perfectly good ammo on these things, considering they aren't doing anything."

Francis lowered the barrel, turned and walked to the front enterance. The others looked at the Hunters, who began scurring away. The one Francis shot looked at them for a moment, the bleeding from the wound aready stopped. It turned and followed its pack.

"Well that was different." Zoey sighed.

"They've gotten animalistic." Louis pointed out, "I wonder whats going on with the other types of infected..."

"I knew they were changing." Bill's cigar almost smoked away, "They seem to be changing everyday." He turned and followed Francis. Jack looked at Louis and Zoey for a second, and followed the others, the two following behind him.

They looked at the front enterance.

"I bet they're picking people up on the heli-pad." Louis suggested.

Jack looked upward. He was getting hot in his clothing. He took off the firemans mask and exposed his mouth from the balaclava to get a fresh breath. He put the mask on again.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Lets get outta here." Zoey laughed.

Bill flicked his cigar behind him and opened the door. He walked in with the others. And so began their last chance of getting out of Phillie alive.

**I really like this chapter! I introduce some stuff, I think it came out well. Hope you all like it, leave a comment and tell me what you think. Until next time.**


	20. Chapter 20

Death or Glory

**Guys! It's my twentith installment! I never thought I'd get this far, really. I can't thank anyone except the readers, as their kind words and praise is whats kept me writing issue after issue. So thanks guys. And here, is the twentith installament of DoG!**

Chapter 20: A fight or flight reflex

The five peered through the bloody and dark hospital lobby. The only light coming from their flashlights. They saw the bloody help desk, and many dead survivors. A few weapons could be found in the wreckage, along with some other supplies. Francis walked up and grabbed a bottle of pain pills off a dead boby.

"Francis!" Zoey said sternly.

"What?" He asked, "He ain't using it anymore. Besides, could keep one of us alive."

"Francis is right." Bill sighed, "We might as well take this chance to stock up." He said as he walked over to a dead female survivor holding a pistol. Jack walked to the help desk and looked for things there. Zoey looked at Louis, who shrugged at her, and went to searching with the others. Zoey sighed and looked through a nearby hallway. The coast was clear, for now at least.

"Hey Bill!" Francis said. Bill turned to see Francis toss something to him. Bill caught it, and smiled to see an unopened pack of cigarettes in his hand. He quickly opened it and took one out and lit it as he continued to search. They searched for a few more minutes.

"Guys? Evacuation?" Zoey reminded her comrades.

"Zoey's right." Bill stood up, "Lets get moving."

By the end of the search, they'd gathered two shotguns, three pistols, a healthpack, and four bottles of pain pills. It would keep them for a while. They walked through the hallway Zoey had scoutted. Louis peered in one of the rooms to find it empty.

"Man, this is great." Louis smiled, "Not a single infected yet."

"I bet they're all hiding and waiting to ambush us." Francis said, looking at the optomistic man.

"Have you considered having a postitive outlook?" Jack asked the biker.

"Tried it once. Bored the hell outta me."

The five stopped conversing at the sound of a low bellow coming from behind them. They turned around and saw a Boomer not five feet away. It puked, hitting all five of them with its spread of vomit.

"Dammit!" Bill yelled, "I can't see a thing!"

Then the growling started. Through the slime, Common began running at them from both sides of the hallway. No one could notice how close or far they were. Louis was scratched in the back. He turned and began firing into the direction, the other four followed his lead. Bill began pushing through the horde to try and get through.

"Follow my voice!" Bill ordered. Louis and Zoey began shooting and pushing the horde in front of them as Jack and Francis followed behind them, shooting with their short range guns. The hallway turned right, but Bill continued forward. He bumped into the wall. As he tried to feel for which way to go, the feel of something grabbing his arm was all he noticed. It began dragging him, down the hall.

"Smoker's got me!" He yelled. The four, still recovering from the bile and still fighting the horde, only managed to fire off a few innaccurate shots at the special infected. The bullets whizzed past it, as it continued to draw Bill closer. He began screaming and yelling.

"Shit!" Jack yelled. He removed the firefighters mask, which was still covered in bile, and tossed it aside. Now being able to see clearly, he began shooting more precisly, and finally noticed the Smoker. He fired at it, a few of the pellets hitting it, though it didn't do much damage. Bill regained his sight, only to see he was mere feet from the Smoker. He began kicking and swinging, trying to fire at it with his free arm.

The others regained their sight aswell. Louis saw the Boomer that caused it. As it prepared another bile blast, he shot it in the stomach. It burst, as blood and bile flew around the remains of the body, getting all over the walls and remaining Common. The coming began scratching and biting each from the scent of the bile. It was just like at the house.

"The scent of the vomit attracts the horde!" Zoey yelled.

"No shit!" Francis yelled back. Jack charged at the Smoker with his axe. He leapt in the, with the weapon above his head. He forced it down on the very top of the Smoker's head. The Smoker, like the Boomer, popped, but instead, released a large cloud of smoke from its remains. Bill looked up at Jack.

"Bill! Get up! Lets go! More are coming!"

Bill got up as quick as he could as the others ran past him down the hall. Jack jogged back and grabbed his mask, wiped it, and put it back on. He ran forward again, by this time, Bill was already up and moving. The five followed the hallway until it split into two directions. Suddenly, the sound of crying was heard on the right side.

"Lets go le-" Francis began, but Bill cut him off.

"Shhhh!"

The witch walked down the hall, her bloody claws covering her face as she wept. Her only clothing was a ripped up white tank top and her panties. She walked down the hall, not even acknowledging the survivors. Once out of sight, Bill turned to the right side of the hallway, the others followed. It was a short hallway that lead to a small room with a few chairs and an elevator.

"That elevator could get us to the roof." Louis suggested.

"Are we sure its safe?" Jack asked.

"It's the only chance we have son." Bill answered, "We have to try."

"I hate elevators." Francis pouted.

The four ignored him and went on with the conversation.

"Bill's right." Zoey said, "We have to."

Jack nodded in agreement. Bill walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. The dinging sound was loud. The five began hearing growling and moaning closing in.

"Since when are elevators that loud!" Louis said madly.

"It's just our luck." Francis said as he aimed his shotgun down the hall. Common began flooding the hall, charging at the survivors. Francis shot first, hitting the lead three infected with the pellet spread. He cocked it again, and the others began firing with him. None of the Common came into striking distance, as their numbers began to diminish, they began to hear banging on the other side of the wall right of the elevator. Suddenly, a Charger ran through the wall as if it were cardboard. It crashed into Louis, still continuing it's charge. It ran itself and Louis through the other wall, causing Louis to release his grip on his pistol.

"Aaaaaaagghhhh!-" Louis cried as they crashed through.

"LOUIS!" Zoey yelled.

"Oh shit!" Francis cried, "Louis!"

The Charger had sent itself and the survivor back to the lobby after running through the wall. It stopped halfway when it stepped in the middle of the room, though the laws of gravity kept Louis going. He crashed into the opposite wall, and slid to the ground. He groaned weakly as he looked up at the victorious Charger. It prepared itself for a second charge. Louis' eyes began to grow heavy.

"No..." Louis mumbled, "Not like this..."

_Bang-bang-bang!_

Louis opened his eyes wide as he saw the Charger turn back at the sound of the gunshots. Someone was shooting it.

"Hands off 'em you ugly sonofabitch!"

It was Bill. Louis couldn't move. He was dead weight.

The Charger went at Bill. It swung its massive fist at him. He jumped back, dodging the attack, while still firing at it. The Charger fell back, trying to retreat.

"Oh no you don't!"

Bill dashed at it, and smacked it in the back with the butt of his gun. It tripped forward infront of Louis. Bill began firing at its lower back, and in a matter of seconds, it wailed its deathcry. Bill walked over to Louis and kneeled infront of him. He shook the man.

"Louis? Louis? Can you hear me?" Bill ased. Louis said nothing, his eyes closed, "Man down!" Bill began dragging Louis back to the hole. They got back to the elevator as the others continued to fight off the horde. Bill placed Louis next to the elevator, and joined the fray. A few moments later the elevator opened.

"Everyone get in! Bill ordered. They ran inside. Francis grabbed Louis and dragged him inside aswell. They continued to shoot at the horde as the doors closed. As they infected reached the doors and grabbed at them, it finally shut, smashing and crushing zombie arms. The arms lay at the front as the four look at their unconsious ally. Francis kicked him.

"Rise and shine, sunshine." Francis said.

"Francis." Zoey scowled, "He isn't going to wake up if you kick him. He might need medical attention, Jack, help me take his shirt off, we have to see the damage the Charger did."

"Woah!" Francis yelled, "I don't wanna see Louis shirtless."

"He could be seriously injured." Pointed out to the biker.

"Fine. But I ain't looking."

As they removed the shirt and inspected his body, he had several cuts and bruises. Jack began wrapping some bandages from the extra health kit, he took out some of the pain pills.

"Louis. Louis!" He said. Louis opened his eyes barely and looked at Jack, "Hey buddy, you're hurt real bad. I need you to take some of these pills."

Louis nodded and let Jack help them take them. They were heavy duty and the bottle said the effects would take place in a matter of minutes. Louis' expression didn't change. The elevator moved slowly as the pills began to take effect. Louis began to try and stand up. All the pain he was feeling was fading away. He stood up. It was all so sudden. He was feeling better than before. Good. Great even.

"Francis. Gimme one of those extra shotguns." Louis said. Francis tossed it to him, and gave him some spare shells.

"Ain't much, so try and stay back."

"Man guys, I feel like I'm Gordan Freeman!" Louis said cheerfully, "I love pain pills!"

Bill patted his shoulder.

"Glad you're back in the action son."

"Wouldn't be without you Bill. Thanks."

"We gotta help each other if we want to survive. You'd do the same for me."

"I wouldn't." Francis blurted before Zoey punched him in the arm.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Ruining a heart-warming moment for the reader." Zoey said.

"What?"

"Um... nothing."

The four men looked at her oddly.

**LOL. Breaking the fourth wall FTW!**

They finally reached the top floor. From there they could go straight to the roof. The doors swung open. The top level was even more destroyed then the bottom. Bodies everywhere. Blood all over the place. It was a horrible sight. They all walked out, aiming their weapons ahead.

"On your toes people. Were deep behind enemy lines." Bill whispered.

They walked slowly, ever so cautious, making sure to identify every sound, including their own footsteps. They reached the help desk of the level. There were bodies laying on the counter. They began to see hospital bedrooms. Most doors were wide open.

"Stay away from the doors." Bill ordered. Jack pointed out a sign reading stairs with an arrow pointing to the right. The five followed the sign, never speeding up to alert any unidentified zed. The silence was the most horrofying factor. It felt like no one was breathing. They reached the door to the stairs. Bill raised his hand slowly and grabbed the knob. He opened it slowly, trying not to make a sound. Bill opened the door all the way, and the five went inside. Logically, the stairs went in two directions. Up and down. The five began up the sprial. It was only one flight, but it felt like walking upward was taking eons. Still trying not to make a sound, they moved ever so slowly. Laughter and crying was heard in the distance. They reahed the top of the flight.

"Everyon-" Bill asked, before getting cut off.

"Were all ready! Lets just fucking do it." Francis said irratated. Bill sighed, and walked through the door. The roof was large, as to make room for a small room for radio conversation and the metal heli-pad. Common stood around, still unaware of the survivors presence.

"Bill, you make the call." Francis said.

"What're you gonna do?" Bill asked.

"I'm gonna keep you from getting your ass kicked." He said as he ran at the zombies. He fired at the closest one, which had its back to him. The other Common noticed him, and went after him.

"I'm going with Francis." Jack said.

"Me too." Louis said.

"Alright, stay safe." Bill said, "Zoey, you'll be with me."

"Got ya" She nodded, and the four split up. Bill and Zoey ran to the building as Jack and Louis ran after Francis and the horde. A few Common went after Bill & Zoey. Zoey fired back at them, easily killing the few in pursuit. The reached the room and ran through the door.

"Zoey! Watch the door! I'm gonna make the call." Bill said.

"Alright." She replied.

Bill looked at the radio and grabbed the communicator.

"Hello! This is Bill Overbeck! Is anyone out there?" He said into the radio. No answer, "Hello? Is ANYONE out there?"

"Copy that Bill. This is the News 7 chopper, how can I be of assistance?" A man said on the other line.

"Thank God! Me and some fellow survivors are on the roof of the Mercy hospital! There are infected everywhere! Is there any possible way you can help us?"

"Copy that. I'll be there as quick as I can. TOA is 5 minutes."

"Roger that." 

Bill turned away from the radio and looked at Zoey.

"We can last 5 minutes against these things, can't we?" Zoey smiled.

Her smile looked so familiar to Bill. He snapped out of it and nodded, they walked out the door and looked for a vantage point. They decided the roof of the radio outpost.

Francis smacked a Common with his weapon as it drew close. Things were getting too close for comfort. Louis fired shell after shell, eyes wide. He ran to help Francis but was cut off as something landed infront of him. A Hunter growled before him, scratching at him. He cocked his foot back and kicked it in the chin as hard as he could. He Hunter fell on its back. Louis ran to the side of it, shooting it with his weapon. He then went after the zed surrounding Francis. He fired off at them, hitting the ones to the side of the biker. After getting the elbow room, Francis began going wild. He kicked one of the Common, knocking it and all the ones behind it to the ground. He fired his shotgun at an infected to the left of him. He ran off to Louis.

"Thanks for the save." Francis panted.

"You owe me one." Louis smiled.

Jack swung his axe wildly at the Common around him, slicing heads and stomachs alike. An infected swung at his face, clawing his mask. It ripped through the mask and slashed his skin. Jack let out a cry of pain before grabbing his shotgun and blowing the infected away. Jack rubbed the wound. He was bleeding. Ignoring it, he ran at the rest of the infected.

Bill and Zoey took the ramp to the roof of the radio tower and found health packs, ammo and weapons.

"This is gonna be biblical." Zoey smiled evily. She grabbed an AK-47 and began spraying the infected attacking the others. Bill grabbed a molotov and lit it with his cigarette. He tossed it forward, landing on a group of infected. The fire spread across the ground as Common ran into the flames.

"Oh shit!" Louis yelled, noticing the nearby flames. He noticed Bill and Zoey and ran over to them, Francis and Jack following. The reach the top with the others.

"Please tell me someones coming." Louis panted.

"They'll be here in a few minutes." Bill said, still shooting at the horde, "Jack, watch the ramp!"

"On it!" He said as he fired at Common trying to come up.

_RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!_

"For fucks sake!" Francis yelled.

"Tank inbound!" Zoey yelled as a Tank ran through the stairs door and charged at them. Bill and Zoey shot at it, but it still came.

"Hit it with something!" Bill cried, "Anything!"

Francis grabbed a molotov and tossed it at the Tank. It hit the Tank head on, bathing it in the flames. It continued at the five. Francis looked around for something to use, and found the oddest thing.

"Guys! Boomer vomit in this bottle!" Francis said.

"Throw it at the Tank!" Jack yelled.

He threw it, hitting the Tanks shoulder. The bile poured on the fire, drenching some of the fire. The Common, attracted to the scent, charged at the Tank and attacked it. It swung at the Common, but there were too many.

"Those things were good for something afterall." Francis laughed.

They heard hovering. It was the chopper.

"Lets go! Lets go!" Bill yelled, running down the ramp.

"Get to da choppa!" Zoey said all Arnold-like to the others. They followed Bill down the ramp and ran for the heli-pad. The Common, having finished off the Tank, noticed the survivors and began chasing after them.

"Shit shit shit RUN!" Francis yelled. They reached the ramp of the helipad and ran even faster.

"C'mon c'mon!" The piolet yelled.

Bill ran onto the chopper, followed by Zoey, Louis, Francis, and then Jack.

"Get us the hell out of here!" Zoey yelled. The chopper began to make a loud spinning noise and rose slowly. The Common were jumping at the chopper as the survivors tried to shoot them down. As they were about 15 feet from the ground, the piolet began to fly away.

The survivors began to cheer. They were free. After all the fighting. It was over. Louis walked over to the piolet.

"Thanks man. Hadn't been for you we'd have died there."

"Not a problem, I'm just glad I got you guys out of there."

The moon rose. They had been flying for hours. The survivors had been chatting, all except for Jack, who sat and looked at a picture. Zoey peered over and looked at the picture. Jack noticed her.

"It's me and my family." He said.

"What happened to them?" She asked.

"Dad died before the infection. I found my Mom infected, I have no idea where my sister is."

"I'm so-"

"Don't be. Please."

Zoey nodded.

"Oh man, this is great!" Francis cheered, "When we get to safety, I'm throwing a huge kegger! And it's gonna be sweet!"

The piolet let out a violent cough. It had grown worse throughout the ride.

"Hey. You alright, son?" Bill asked.

"Yeah." He answered, "Just a cold." The piolet began to notice blood coming out of his mouth. He let out a huge cry.

"What the hell man!" Francis asked. The piolet got up, and charged at Zoey. He slammed her against the metal.

"Piolet's infected!" She yelled as she saw the blood. His skin pale. Bill smacked him with the butt of his gun. He fell over, and they shot him. The chopper was losing altitude quickly. They were above a huge field. Louis ran over and grabbed the control stick. He tryed pulling it up, but he didn't know how.

"Guys! Were going down!" Louis yelled.

"Everyone hold onto something!" Bill yelled.

They all screamed, was this the end? Bill closed his eyes. He heard a large metallic crash, and it all went black.


	21. Chapter 21

Death or Glory

**This is it! The chapter we've all been waiting for! Hold onto your seats, true believers! This is chapter 21!**

Chapter 21: A meeting of luck

".. So anyway, Keith started freakin' out and dropped the flare gun and it shot when it hit the ground. Flare hit 'em right in the chest. Burns over 50% of his body." Ellis said as he eyed the survivors in the backseats of Jimmy Gibbs Jr's stock car. Though Rochelle and Nick mostly shrugged off another one of Ellis' stories, as this is at least the 13th one since the car ride started. But Charolette never looked away from Ellis as he told these tales. Even she wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not.

"That was a might purtty story, Ellis." She said quietly as she rubbed Ellis' shoulder.

"Um.. thanks... Charolette..." The mechanic sighed, he shrugged her hand off of him.

"Ellis." Coach began, "I think we've all heard enough of your Keith stories for a while."

"Yeah!" Ro and Nick said in unison.

"Oh c'mon Coach!" Charolette said frustrated, "Let 'em tell just one more."

"Alright!" Nick said, "Who invited this chick. Because I know I didn't. I have a sinking feeling you didn't either overalls."

Ellis sighed and continued driving. Charolette gave the Con-man a mean look.

"Well excuse me Mr. Suit, but yall looked like you could use all the help you could get!"

"Help? You kidding? We were fine! F-I-N-E! You're nothing more than dead weight."

"Ellis!" She looked at the driver, "Say somethin'!"

"Yeah Ellis." Nick agreed, "Tell Charolette what you think of her."

"Well... I... uh..." He began. He stopped as the car slowed down.

"Whats going on Ellis?" Rochelle asked.

"Aw shit!" He said as he slammed his fists on the wheel, "Were outta gas!"

"What!" Coach asked in disbelief.

After a few moments, the car rolled to a stop. Ellis began slamming the wheel again in frustration.

"Great." Nick pouted, "Were in the middle of nowhere."

Coach opened his door and went outside. He relaxed his stance and layed on the car. Rochelle and Nick came out of the open door as well and stood by the PE teacher. Ellis, who's face was buried in his forearm, sat in his chair, depressed.

"Aw man." He thought, "I let everyone down. And I'm gonna have to repopulate with Charolette... I need a miracle."

"Hey Ellis." Charolette called to the man in his own little world.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"It's not all bad."

"Yeah, I guess." He said as he opened the car door and went outside. Charolette sighed and went out the door.

"Poor little guy." Rochelle sighed, "He must be so sad."

"He'll be fine Ro." Coach said, "Our first priority is to find our way out of here.

Nick rolled his eyes in skeptism, and because of that, he noticed the oddest thing in the sky.

"Guys..." He said, "Look!" He pointed at a helicoptor. The others looked over and saw it. Everyone began shaking their arms and jumping. Ellis ran after it waving. He must have ran about 50 feet.

"Hey! Were over here! Help!" He yelled. The helicoptor began to look bigger. It was getting closer!

"Ellis!" Coach yelled, "Get over here!" He didn't listen. He kept running after it. It finally flew over Ellis' head and he finally noticed it was less than 20 feet above him.

"Aw sheeeeee-!" He yelled. It crashed 15 feet infront of him. He was knocked off his feet. It slid against the ground, metal and dirt flying around, The crash was loud, metal clanging against itself. As it finally stopped, Ellis looked up and saw the sight. The others ran over to him.

"Well that was unexpected." Nick sighed. Coach walked over to the wreckage, unarmed. He found the sliding door of the coptor.

"Hey guys! Help me open this thing!" He yelled.

"You're kidding right!" Nick said, "We don't know whats in there!"

"There could be something important in there."

"Like what? A Tank?"

"Shut up and help him open it." Rochelle looked at Nick, "Ellis you help too. I'll go grab some weapons."

Nick scowled. The look on his face made Charolette snort. He looked at her and flipped her the bird as he and Ellis went to help Coach.

"Asshole." Charolette said under her breath. The three men looked around for some way to open it. Coach found the sliding door knob. He grabbed it and began to pull. The door slid slowly, releasing a loud creak as it moved inch by inch. Rochelle managed to grab a few two rifles and a shotgun in both hands. She'd have to make a second trip.

The door finally opened all the way, and the three men were surprised at what they saw. 6 bodies lay in the coptor, 1 covered in bullets. Rochelle walked up to see what it was, and shared their surprise.

"Hey. What're yall lookin' at?" Charolette said as she went to see the action. When she got there, she studied the scene plainly.

"Oh, dead people. Like we haven't seen none of them in the past two days." She said sarcastically.

"They may not be dead." Coach disagreed, "Not all of them..." He went inside to study the scene. He first checked the bullet bathed body. The survivor had showed signs of infection. They must have put him down. One was an older gentleman in military attire, a man covered in tatoos, a man with a tie, a man in a large trenchcoat, and a young woman. The others went inside to see the bodies.

"Help me get 'em outta there." Coach told the others. They dragged the ragdolls out out of the coptor and into the daylight. Ellis layed the vest wearing man down, and looked at Rochelle put the woman down. Ellis couldn't believe what he saw. He walked over and knelt down to see her face. He knew it. It was the girl from his dream. He could recognize the face from anywhere. Her beauty overwhelmed the man, and he took a deep breath. He looked at her fae for what seemed forever.

"This is her." He thought, "The most beautiful girl in da whole damn world."

He gently lifted her arm to find a pulse. The action caused resistance. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Aaaaghh!" She yelled out of surprise. This startled the mechanic. He screamed two. This caught the alarm of the others. Nick grabbed the shotgun from Rochelle and pointed at the new woman. She looked at the barrel.

"Scream again, cupcake." Nick said coldly, "And the only thing you'll scare that time is my trigger finger."

She moved the barrel away from her face.

"Don't point it if you're not gonna use it, Scarface." She said, annoyed. She looked around and saw her comrades. She crawled to the old man.

"Bill!" She said, "Bill wake up! It's me Zoey!" She slapped the vetrans face a few times, to no effect.

"Who the hell er you?" Charolette asked her.

"My names Zoey. I should be asking you all the same thing."

"Ma'am. I'm sorry if we startled ya.." Coach began, cutting Charolette off, "But we found you and your friends in that coptor that crashed right over there. I'm Coach."

"Alright, it's nice to meet you Coach. I thought we were the only ones left." She raised her arm to shake, but it stung as she tried to bend it. She lowered her arm and shrugged at the older man. She looked around at the other new faces.

"And you guys?"

"Hi." Ro began, "I'm Rochelle, the guy with the "trigger finger" is Nick, the young guy is Ellis, and this is Charolette."

"Well, it's nice to meet SOME of you."

Nick and Charolette sneered, then looked at one another, surprised they shared a dislike of her. The man in the vest began to mumble.

"Th-that is why I hate helicoptors." He said as he got up.

"Francis!" Zoey yelled with glee. She slid down to hug him, "I never thought I'd be happy to see you alive!"

"Um... thanks... I think." He said to the oddly happy girl, he then looked around at the others, "Aw crap."

"Francis relax, these are survivors like us. They want out of here is bad as we do?"

"Alright. Thats very interesting.."

He got up and inspected the new faces. Coach and Rochelle smiled at him, while Ellis looked at Zoey, Charolette looked at Ellis looking at Zoey, and Nick didn't give a shit.

"Names Coach." The man said, offering a hand to the hateful man. Francis lookes at the hand offered to him for a moment and shook it.

"Names Francis." He said.

"I'm Rochelle." Rochelle greeted the man.

"I'll be sure to remember that name." Francis said. This caused Rochelle to giggle.

"Play on casanova." Nick muttered.

"You say something Colenel Sanders?" Francis asked him.

"Yeah. I said where do you get your pick-up lines? A popcicle stick?"

"Where do you get your insults?" 

The two men exchanged glares. Nick began to fiddle with his weapon. This caused Francis to look around for his shotgun. Must have still been in the chopper. He looked at the other two.

"Hey hicks." He called out to them. They went out of their respective dazes and looked at the biker. Ellis got up and walked to the man.

"Hey there man. My names Ellis. Please to make yer aquaintance." He said in him normally warm way. Charolette stood beside him, resisting the urge to touch him.

"Ma names Charolette."

"Interesting." He said nonchalantly as he looked at his still unconsious comrades. He walked over to Bill.

"Wake up old man." He said and kicked his ribs.

"Francis!" Zoey said, enraged by the action.

"I'm no doctor..." Rochelle began, "But that isn't how you check to see if someones still alive."

"Hm. What do you suggest?"

"Well we need to look for somewhere to catch our breath. We stay out here too long, were sure to fall victim to the infected."

"A woman who can take charge. Nice." He smirked.

Nick rolled his eyes, and looked at one of the sleeping survivors. He wore a mask, but there was on noteable feature on him.

"Hey." Nick called, "What happened to this guys face?"

Zoey went over to him, and saw the large claw mark he was referring to.

"Oh god... Jack.." Zoey said sadly.

"He musta gotten that back in Philley..." Francis sighed.

"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But this guy'll be trying to eat us when he wakes up."

"How do you know?" Zoey asked.

Nick looked at Rochelle, who looked at the ground.

"Don't worry about it. We can't afford to let him live." He cocked the shotgun. Jack's eyes sprung open. He grabbed Nick's leg, and pulled him off his feet. Nick fired into the air as he hit the ground. Jack tried to get up, but Nick's reflex caused him to kick, hitting Jack in the side. Jack fell to the ground, as Rochelle aimed at him with her rifle, as Nick got up and aimed as well.

"Don't. Move." She said slowly.

"Son of a bitch.." Nick panted.

"No! Don't shoot!" Zoey yelled, "He's not infected!"

Jack's eyes darted around as the new survivors looked at him.

"Zoey..." Jack began, "... what the fuck is going on?"

"Jack, this people are going to help us."

"We are NOT helping him! He's been cut!" Nick yelled.

"Enough!" Coach said with his booming voice, "Ro! Nick! Enough!"

The two lowered their weapons, though Nick's eyes never left Jack.

"Ro's right, we gotta find somewhere to cool our heads. Try to wake up those other two people."

Jack got up and looked at Coach.

"Thank you.." He said.

Coach nodded, as Francis walked by him and went back to Bill. Zoey and Jack walked over to Louis.

Ellis, for the first time since the start of this story, was speechless. He thought they were the last five alive. Nick walked over to him.

"At a loss for words, Overalls?"

"It's weird man. Never thought I'd see other people again in all my life."

"I guess. I don't like them."

"How can you not like them?"

"We ignoring the fact one of them attacked me?" 

"Yew were pointin' a gun at him."

"Oh sure, take his side." Nick said as he walked to Ro.

Charolette walked over to the mechanic.

"Why you so quiet?" She asked him.

"Oh, its nothin'."

"Oh c'mon Ellis, you can tell me 'anything'..."

"Um... no thanks."

"Listen ta me Ellis." She grabbed him by both shoulders and faced him eye to eye, "There are three women left on this Earth to repopulate with. I. Want. You. Bad."

Ellis' eyes opened wide to what he just heard. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered, or disgusted. He backed away from her and took a breath. He wanted her to just go away. But he couldn't say that. It was neither the time nor the place. That time may never come, given the circumstances. He turned, and walked to the others. Charolette kicked the dirt in frustration.

_"Raaaaaaaaggggggghhhh!"_

The survivors looked down the road. Horde inbound.

"Shit!" Nick yelled, then kicked one of the car's wheels.

"We gotta move!" Coach ordered, "We can't stay here!"

"We can't leave our friends!" Jack yelled, "We have to stay and fight!"

"Son, you must be outta your mind! The only thing we'll get if we stay here is dead!"

"Coach please!" Zoey begged.

"I'm sorry. I can't risk our lives here."

"Coach. A little less talky, a little more running!" Nick said on the verge of fleeing.

"You can do whatever you want." Jack looked at the con-man, "I won't leave my friends to die. As long as I have a gun, I'm gonna fight."

"Guys!" Francis yelled, "Louis is up!"

Louis rose slowly, his body aching. He had cuts and bruises, rips in his shirt. He took it the worst in the crash.

"Louis c'mon!" Francis said, "Grab a gun! Time to move!"

"F-francis?"

"I'll carry the guy!" Ellis yelled, "Lets just go!"

"Ellis, you'll get caught with all that extra weight slowing you down." Rochelle yelled. Ellis ran over to the sleeping veteran, and started picking him up.

"I don't care." Ellis chuckled, looking at Zoey in the corner of his eye, "I wanna go down saying I tried."

The man was sort of heavy, but Ellis felt he could handle it. He started to run, as fast as he can.

"Just cover me while I move!"

Jack ran to the chopper and grabbed his weapons. The horde began closing in. Nick began firing at the horde, along with Rochelle. Jack began tossing weapons to his comrades, whilw Charolette grabbed her crews gear. All 9 (Not counting Bill) were on the move. Ellis was in the lead, though he was slowly being overrun by the others. The other 8 fired ot the back of them, the head of the horde falling down quickly. The horde must have had 100-150 infected.

"How far do you think we are from an escape?" Louis asked, still a little lost.

"Too far." Francis said as he began to reload.

"This was a shitty plan!" Nick yelled.

"It was YOUR shitty plan!" Rochelle yelled.

"Can we shut up and shoot zombies for a minute please!" Zoey yelled.

Jack cocked his weapon again, the last of his shells gone. He felt around for one, but couldn't find one.

"Shit!" He yelled, "I'm out!" He holstered his weapon and pulled out his axe.

"A lotta good that'll do!" Nick yelled.

"Maybe if you gave me a few shells, I wouldn't need to take it out!"

"I'm not going to waste my ammo on some soon to be infected."

"What the hell are you-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Coach yelled, "Or I swear the last thing you see before the zombies eat us alive is my boot!"

The horde, though thinning, was closing in. There was at least 70-85 left. Ellis was in the back at this point. The added weight was slowing him down, and the extra energy made him more and more tired.

"Wake up wake up wake up wake up...!" Ellis kept yelling in his head. He closed his eyes tight, trying to think it was all a dream.

"Excuse me, son?" A voice he heard behind him, "Put me down before I have to make you." The voice was gruff, and full of pride.

"Sir yessir!" He released his grip on Bill, who landed on his feet, and began running up to the others.

"Bill!" Zoey said with glee.

"Good to see you all, and you're new friends. Whats the situation?" Bill asked.

"Chopper crashed, these people found us, infected found us, now were running." Louis said.

"Great. Wheres my gun?"

"Had to leave it in the helicoptor." Jack said, "Didn't have time to pick it up."

"Here." Ellis said, offerring his extra pistol to Bill, "Yall look like you need it."

"Thanks, kid." Bill said as he fired a few rounds at the horde, "You all seem to have done a good of thinning them out, time to finish them off." He said, stopping and turning around, causing all the others to stop.

"Hey old timer!" Nick said, "Maybe you're having a senile mome-" He stopped when Bill pointed his pistol at him.

"Listen to me and you listen you good, you little shit. I spent 4 years of my life defending this nation so you could suck on your mom's tit. I fought to Philley alone and saved these people, and we killed more zombies than you all have had birthdays. If you wanna run, thats your business. But me and my friends are going to fight. But I already got one shit calling me names, I don't need to have two. So you better believe I'm not afraid to shoot the new one."

"Alright guys, enough." Rochelle yelled.

"Nick, we have to fight." Coach said.

"Am I the only person who hasn't lost their senses? You agreed with me to run! Now that the fossils awake, he's in charge?"

As the horde closed in, the survivors in the back began firing away. At the lead were Charolette and Zoey and Louis, who all began reloading their weapons. Nick stood in the middle, left with no choice to fight.

"Try not to shoot me!" Jack said as he ran at the horde with his weapon. He slashed the infected before him as they began surrounding him. Coach and his group, surprised to see such an odd move, tried focusing on the infected that weren't near him. Charolette ran up with her shotgun trying to get the Jack.

"The hell are you doing!" Francis yelled.

She fired multiple times as the infected began directing their attention to her. They began slashing at her, she jumped back. Miscalulating her footing, she fell to the floor. The infected began grouping around her. Jack ran to her, and began slashing at them. She began flailing, she even swung around with her shotgun. The infected around her all dropped to the floor dead from bullets and slashes. The last infected finally fell. They stood around the dead bodies, relived.

"You alright, son?" Bill asked Jack.

"Shouldn't be asking ME that." He responded with, looking at Charolette. She tried to get up, using her shotgun as a cane. She began to breath heavily. The infected had ripped parts of her shirt and her arms and legs were all bloody. She spit blood to the ground. She began to limp to the others.

"We need to find somewhere safe. It's been a long day." Rochelle suggested.

"Ladies right." Bill said simply.

"We haven't been introduced well. I'm Rochelle."

"Bill. We can talk more when we find a safehouse."

The ten agreed, and began walking. Hours passed, and words were rarely uttered. The sky turned a bright orange before they found it. The small shack near the road. They walked 4 miles. The survivors, all exhausted, took the chance for rest openly and went inside. Coach stepped in first. It was a small shack. A design similar to the one they met Rochelle in, but a little larger. He put his weapons on the wall, and walked to a chair in the corner of the room and sat down. He closed his eyes, and relaxed. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep.

"Poor guy." Nick chuckled, "Musta lost 15 pounds from all the running." No one laughed. "Everyones a critic.." He sighed before sitting on the ground.

"Lets all get some rest." Bill said with relief, "The bloody girl gets the bed."

Charolette went on the bed and curled up, and closed her eyes. Not wanting to stay, Nick went into the bathroom and sat in the tub. Beat sleeping on the floor. He heard a knock on the door.

"Hey Sanders!" Francis said sternly, "I gotta go, so unlock the door."

"Bite me, you monkey."

"C'mon! I gotta take a leak. Have a heart!"

"Piss your pants!"

"I'm counting to three and then I'm breaking the door down!"

"You'll still have to pee in the open, dumbshit."

As the two bickered, the remaining survivors chatted.

"Thanks for the weapon, kid." Bill said thankfully, "Whats you're name?"

"Ellis. My names Ellis."

They shook hands.

"And I thought all the young men in the world were worthless."

"Hey!" Louis said.

Zoey laughed, "Louis, you're in your early thirties. You're not a young adult anymore."

Louis couldn't help but laugh too.

"So what was the story with the chopper? If you don't mind me asking." Rochelle asked.

"Some guy in a chopper saved us in Philly..." Bill began, "turns out he was infected. And since none of us knew how to fly a helicoptor, we went down."

"Oh.." Rochelle said.

"Don't worry about it. We need to decide who's gonna take first watch."

"I'll do it." Ellis volunteered.

"Ellis, sweetie," Rochelle began, "You've had a long day. Get some rest."

"Sorry Ro. All that happened today got me pumped. I don't think I could sleep for weeks! Reminds me of the time me and my buddy Keith took all these pixie stix..."

"Forget it. I'm going to sleep. Night." Rochelle said. She patted Ellis' shoulder and went into the corner and sat down.

"Yall should get some shut eye too." Ellis suggested.

"Just remember to wake someone up in a few hours to take next watch." Bill said.

"Alright, I'll make sure."

"Night." Zoey said as she went to the wall parallel to Rochelle's and layed down. Jack, already exhausted, layed on the floor without saying a word. Bill gave the mechanic a nod and walked to the bed and sat against it. Ellis sat down in the exact spot he stood in for several hours. He yawned. He didn't want to have to ruin anyones sleep, so he decided to take full watch. It got dark, the moon being the only light. He could see inside the cabin fine. He sat with his thoughts about the dream girl. Was it a sign about this Zoey girl? And would he ever get to meet Jimmy Gibbs Jr?

His thoughts were cutoff by the sound of someone stirring. He looked over. It was Zoey herself. She opened her eyes and saw Ellis.

"Shouldn't you have woken someone up by now?" She asked.

"Yeah, well um, I wanted ta make sure yall got your sleep and all."

"Is that a fact?"

"Yes ma'am."

"You know, I never got a chance to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"For helping save Bill. If it hadn't been for you.."

"Don't talk like that. I'm sure it woulda worked out fine."

"Yeah.." She crawled over and sat infront of Ellis. He blushed, luckily for him it was too dark to see.

"So tell me about yourself." Zoey said.

"Are ya sure."

"Positive." She smiled.

"Alright, but I tend to ramble on, so make sure ta stop me if I do, OK?"

"Loud and clear."

"Well ma names Ellis, I was a jr mechanic at my friend's body shop. We used to goof off, like this one time, me and my buddy Keith took this guys convertable for a test drive and...

Ellis went on like this for what seemed like an enternity. But Zoey never stopped him, and listened to every word. She smiled, and nodded, and even laughed a few times.

"... And had boils over 90% of his body! Can ya believe it?" Ellis said laughing. He stopped for a minute, "Now wait a second."

"Huh? What?" She asked.

"You haven't told me a thing 'bout yourself."

"Oh, you don't wanna know anything about me. I didn't live a very interesting life, not like you and Keith."

"Ha! Darlin', you could be telling me the most boring thing ever and I'd still think it was awesome."

Zoey laughed a little about the goofiness of the compliment.

"Heh heh.. thanks Ellis."

"Twasn't nothing."

"Will you two please shut the fuck up! I am trying to sleep for christ's sake!" Nick said on the other side of the door. Francis slept on the door, never leaving it. He never got to take his piss either.

The two laughed for a moment, then Zoey looked at Ellis.

"Ellis, go get some sleep. I'll keep watch from here."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now go." She laughed. He crawled over to her corner and closed his eyes. It was quiet for a moment.

"Hey Zo?"

"Yeah El?"

"It was nice talking to ya."

She smiled warmly.

"Nice talking to you too Ellis. G'night."

It didn't occur to Ellis until the following morning Zoey never told him anything about herself...

**Woo! My fingers are cramping. This was an epic chapter if I must say so. Leave a comment and tell what you think. Until next time...**


	22. Chapter 22

Death or Glory

Chapter 22: Fool's gold

As the sun slowly peaked, Zoey let out a long yawn. Now was better than ever to wake the people up. She looked at Ellis for a moment. He was actually a lot of fun to talk to. She smiled and got up. She walked up to Francis, who was snoring loudly, as he always did.

"Francis.." She whispered, he didn't respond, "Francis!" She whispered again, still nothing. She slowly moved to his ear and took a deep breath...

"FRANCIS!" She yelled loudly. In shock, the biker let out a yelp, waking everyone else. They heard a loud clang coming from the bathroom.

"OW! BITCH SHIT MOTHER FUCKER!" Nick yelled. Everyone looked at the door. It opened wide, showing a very disgruntled Nick walk around Francis and Zoey, while rubbing his forehead. He grabbed his M-16, and walked right out the door.

"I'll wait out here." He said in a calm anger. Not phased by the raging con-man, the group began to get ready to move out. Charolette stayed curled up in her ball, even though she was still awake.

"Honey." Rochelle said to her, "C'mon, we gotta get going." She nudged the young girl, who shrugged her off. Then an idea popped in Ro's head.

"Hey Ellis." Ro said to the young man.

He walked up to her, "He Ro, whats up?"

"I just need some help getting Charolette up."

"Um... can't ya get Coach or someone to help?"

"Ellis, you'll be fine. Just hurry up though, Nick'll have another hissy fit if we don't get going."

"Hey Rochelle." Francis called to her, "C'mere, I wanna talk to you." Rochelle smirked at her young friend, and walked to the biker. Ellis raised an eyebrow at the young girl in the fetal posistion. He raised his hand to shake her.

"Hey Charolette. Ya'll right?" He asked.

"I dunno. Why don't ya ask yer new girlfriend."

"Huh?"

She sat up and looked at the man, "I heard it all. Sharing stories with Zoey, gettin' ta know her but not me. Whats she got that I don't?"

"Uh... well, since yewr up, I'm gonna go grab my stuff." He turned and walked away cautiously. Jack saw it all and snickered.

"So whats the deal with you and the suit?" Francis asked Rochelle.

"What do you mean?"

"You see how defensive he gets when I talk to you? I thought he was your little boyfriend."

"Who? Nick? He's not really my type."

"So... what is your type?" Francis gave a sly grin.

"Uh, Francis. You're cute and all. But were in the middle of a zombie outbreak. Is now really the time to hit on me?"

"I think it makes it more... awesome."

Rochelle laughed, "Well, if you gotta know, I like a funny, sensitive guy."

Francis cringed... sensitive! How could he... there was no way... no, it HAD to be done. For the woman! He let out a sigh, and nodded.

"Well, we should get going. Nick'll get even crankier if we take too long." Rochelle reminded the biker.

"Yeah... yeah." He said, and the two walked out the door. Louis grabbed his things and walked up to Bill.

"Hey Bill..." Louis began.

"Hey Louis, hows it goin'?" Bill greeted.

"Not bad. I was wondering if maybe... if maybe we had any pills left..."

"Oh, um... sure." Bill said as he went into his pocket and pulled a single bottle out, and handed it to the man.

"Sweet. Thanks Bill." He said, and then he turned and walked out the door.

"No... problem.."

Zoey was standing near the door, inspecting her gear as Ellis walked to the door. He looked at her in the corner of his eye, and she looked back, giving a small smile. Ellis walked out the door, almost skipping. Nick saw the young man cheerfully walk near him.

"Whats go your pants so short?" Nick asked.

"Just have a feelin' its gonna be a great day, Nick."

"While were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?"

"Well yeah..."

"Whatever. Don't tell me." Nick grunted and walked to Rochelle and Francis. Ellis watched the man walk away as Coach and Jack walked through out.

"Great. Were all here. Can we go now?" Nick asked.

"Were not all here, dumbass." Francis said, "Zoey and Bill and that weird girl are still in there."

Nick snarled walked up to the door and started banging on it.

"C'mon! C'mon! We ain't got all day." He said angrily. On the other side of the door, he heard Bill.

"Don't rush me son! My boot can and will go up your ass with the right amount of force!"

"Easy there old man! We don't want you to break a hip or any-"

Nick was cutoff as Zoey walked through the door, the door hitting him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Watch where you're standing suit." Zoey mused as she walked to the others. Nick watched her walk away as he got uo and started rubbing the dirt off his suit. Bill walked by him without giving him the slightest glare. Charolette walked out as well, scowling.

"Alright, gangs all here." Coach said, "Lets get movin'!"

"Which way, fearless leader?" Francis asked.

"Well, uh. We came from over there," Coach pointed to the left side of the road,"So were going that way." He then pointed to the right. The biker raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.

"You heard the man, lets go!" Bill said. The ten began walking down the road. They didn't worry much about the infected, as with the open area they could easily prepare for an incoming attack. It was as if the attack yesterday never happened. Ellis walked over to Charolette, who was slightly ahead of him.

"Hey." He greeted nervously. She eyed him, and turned ahead.

"I don't understand why you're mad at me."

"You really don't?" She asked.

"No, I don't."

"You were supposed to like me!" She said calmly, almost whispering.

"Whaddya mean?"

"We were supposed ta repopulate the Earth."

"Um... I don't wanna... mate with you Charolette."

"So ya'll wanna mate with Zoey, huh?"

"I don't wanna mate with anyone right now. I just met ya'll. Yeah I like Zoey. But that don't mean were gonna do it."

"Whatever.." She said, as she began to walk faster. He sighed with relief and concern.

Louis was at point, walking down the road calmly, as if it was more of a morning walk than a fight for their lives. Jack walked behind him.

"Hey Jack, how's the scratch mark?" He asked the soldier.

"Not bad, the bleeding stopped yesterday and it doesn't hurt anymore." He answered.

"So you're not feeling any... different, right?"

"No, not really. I'm annoyed my mask is ripped though." He wore it as a beanie, and still wore the fireman's mask, which still somewhat made him hard to understand. Louis grinned, happy to know his friend was healthy.

"Do you always grin like an idiot when you get good news?" Jack laughed.

"Only a little." Louis chuckled as well.

Zoey walked by Nick, who looked at her.

"You know, talking loud when people are sleeping is rude." He told her.

"You know, YOU calling me rude is sort of funny." Zoey smirked.

Nick laughed.

**Am I the only one who noticed I've made Nick a total troll?**

"Cupcake, you just met me, isn't calling me rude already a little unfair?"

"Maybe you're right. But then again, I don't like it when people call me cupcake. So I'm gonna go ahead and walk ahead and talk with the others, before I have to shoot you in the face. That clear?"

Nick sneered, and watched her as she walked away. She walked to Rochelle and Francis and started chatting with them. It was then he took his focus off of her and to Rochelle and Francis. He noticed how they seemed to be hitting it off. For some reason he didn't understand, it pissed him off.

Bill walked, eyes forward, not paying any attention to the people around him. He enjoyed the quiet moments. He took a drag from his cigarette before flicking into the road. He noticed a sign saying the highway was a quarter mile away and to the left.

"Now hear this!" Bill said, "The highway we'll be taking is a quarter mile down the road."

"We can all read the sign old man." Francis pointed out.

"Charolette can't." Nick laughed. She looked at the con-man with rage.

"Shut up.." She said, the storm in her building.

"Or what? You gonna shoot me?"

"I just might."

"I'm shaking."

"Enough outta you two!" Coach yelled, "Ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say nothin'."

"Sure, whatever you say." Nick said sighed. Charolette said nothing. She rubbed her forehead. She was having a massive headache. Everything was getting blurry...

Francis took a sighed as Zoey and Rochelle spoke to one another about things he didn't care about. But then he remember the sensititive thing Rochelle mentioned. And now was a better time than ever. He waited for the two of them to stop talking.

"So, what're you guys gonna do about tampons now that we can't find any?" He asked, wholeheartedly. The two looked at him with eyes of being offended.

"Um... we don't know yet... Francis." Ro answered.

"Yeah.." Zoey said, "I'm gonna go over there now." She said awkwardly as she walked away. She walked over to Ellis.

"What the hell was that?" Rochelle asked the biker.

"Nothing. I was just curious, was all." Francis said, trying to defend himself.

"Well watch what you say!" She said, and walked faster.

Francis sighed.

"I hate being sensitive."

Zoey walked by Ellis, who was telling her about another adventure he had with Keith.

"How do you do it?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"How do you stay so... happy?"

"Well, my buddy Keith told me something, not too so long ago. He said, Ellis, times are hard. And sometimes, the odds'll be against us. But we gotta keep smiling to discourage the odds. Aslong as we got each other, we can do anythin'."

"Even know? Keith isn't here.."

"Yeah, I know. But I got Coach, and Ro, and Nick... and I got you."

Zoey looked down to the ground, her face flushed.

"And I have Bill, Francis, Louis, Jack, and you." She said back. Ellis smiled. He was about to say something else, but the sound of moaning cut him off. The two turned around, and saw Charolette stand, motionless, her eyes closed. The others turned and saw it too. She had drop the hunting rifle in her hand.

"Charolette...?" Rochelle asked. She opened her eyes, to show a dark, evil shade of orange.


	23. Chapter 23

Death or Glory

Chapter 23: Of zed and men

**Man, staying in the mainstream is hard. Since that short hiatus, I've been reading more of the stories in the Left 4 Dead section. And I got to say, this section rocks! It's got some rocking stories in it. I haven't read a single one I didn't like. So I'm gonna keep writing, so that way I can be one of the well known. I'm such a dreamer ^_^ Well here we go, chapter 23! And... ACTION!**

"Oh tits!" Nick yelled. The now infected Charolette swiped at the con-man, causing him to leap back. Zed-Charolette opened her mouth, which was now gaping. She let out a loud cry, louder than anything they've heard before. Nick shot her in the chest, and she was knocked to the ground. She let out another cry.

"Oh shit!" Louis yelled, "She's calling out other infected!"

Nick shot her again, this time in the forehead. She let out one last cry, and died.

"What're you talking about?" Nick asked.

"The infected are attracted to loud noises!"

"He's right!" Francis agreed, "Back in Philley, them came after us after we triggered a car alarm.

The nine then heard yelling and screaming. Rochelle looked to the left to a large figure in the distance.

"We got a Tank!" She yelled, and began firing at it, the others joining. The Tank shrugged off the bullets and kept coming.

"Aim for the head!" Bill ordered. Though the survivors tried, the distance from the Tank was too great. It stopped, and grabbed the Earth below him. He pulled a chunk of it from the ground, and raised it above his head. He threw it with all his might at the survivors.

"Run!" Coach yelled. The survivors began to run down the road. The chunk of Earth was large, rock and cement buried in dirt. It hit the road, barely missing Nick. The Tank, not discouraged, continued to give chase.'

"It's one Tank." Zoey said, "We can take it."

"She's right." Ellis agreed, "We fight these things all the time. And now theres more of us!"

"They've got a point Bill." Louis said to the veteran. Bill thought for a moment.

"Alright! Fine, we'll do it your way Zoey." Bill stopped in his tracks, the rest joining in. They fired at the Tank, which was now closing in. It charged at them, ignoring the bullets, like a wild dog.

"Why isn't it dying?" Francis yelled as he began reloading.

The Tank leapt a few feet in the air, and slammed its arms to the ground, infront of Nick and Francis. The two fell to the ground, trying to recover. Before the Tank could strike them, Jack ran behind it, and unloading shells into its back. It turned its attention to the solider. The 6 fired into it's back, as Nick and Francis slowly got up. It rose its fist to Jack, who gripped his axe. He dived to the left, narrowly dodging the Tank's attack. It directed it's attention to the others.

"How much can this thing take?" Zoey yelled. The Tank heard Zoey's yelled, and looked at her. It ignored the others and darted at her. Ellis jumped in the way to stop it, but it swatted him away with it's forearms.

"Leave her alone!" Coach yelled, running at it. It looked at Coach with it's demonic eyes. It swung at him, but he dove to the ground. Jack ran at it with his axe. He rose it up with all the strength he could muster, and lodged the weapon into it's back. It cried out and tried to grab the axe and pull it off. Ellis got up slowly, trying to regain focus. It was all dizzy. A figure ran up to him and started pulling him up.

"Ellis! Are you OK!"

It was feight. He almost didn't hear it.

"Huh..?" He said, dazed. His sight returned to him, it was Rochelle.

"Ellis! We need to get the hell out of here!" She yelled while pulling him up."

Nick, Jack and Francis fired at it's back, causing it to cry some more. The cries were loud.

"I think it's signaling like Charolette did!" Coach yelled.

"Kill it!" Louis screamed. It ran back, and tried to flee.

"No you fucking don't!" Jack cried, "Not with my axe in your back!" He chased after it. He shot it in the back several times, before it let out one final cry. It fell to the ground, silent. Jack gripped the handle of the axe, and tried pulling it out. It must have gotten stuck in bone or something. He gripped it with both hands, and pulled it out, causing the Tank's blood to pour out.

"Never heard of the axe in the Tank." Zoey mused.

"Maybe we can pitch it if Disney is still around." Jack chuckled, walking back to them.

Rochelle walked with Ellis, back to the others.

"How's the kid doing, Rochelle?" Bill asked.

"He took the hit pretty bad, he's out of it."

"Well we can't stay here." Bill said, "God knows how many infected that thing called out to."

"Theres more to it than just that." Louis pointed out, "Did you see how much punishment that Tank could take?"

"Maybe he was a masochist before the infection broke out?" Francis suggested.

"Thats not what I meant. I've never seen an infected, Tank or not, manage to take all those bullets."

"What're you saying?" Nick asked.

"I'm saying the infected might be evolving. Back in Philley, we found this group of Hunters that stuck together like an animal pack. They're getting stronger and smarter. We have to be on guard."

"Louis.." Bill began, "I'm scared you're right."

"Well we better get moving then." Coach said, "Nick, why don't you take Ellis off of Rochelle's hands."

"Second time this week I've had to carry this brat around. I'll carry him ONE last time, then someone else can do it." He said as he took the mechanic's weight off of Ro and placed it on his own, "Maybe his girlfriend can next time."

Zoey raised an eyebrow, knowing she wasn't talking about Rochelle. He began walking with Ellis on him, and continued down the road. The group continued to walk, trying to move faster than before. They walked for a twenty minutes until they reached the highway. Laughter was in distance. Jockey.

"I swear, if I get humped again..." Louis sighed. He placed his hand on the railing as the road began to incline. Nick grunted going upward, as if Ellis' extra weight was pushing him downward.

"I think this kid may weigh more than you, Coach." Nick laughed.

"One day, Nick," Coach began, "One day I'm gonna get sick and tired a you."

"All I'll have to do is run up a hill and get away."

"Alright, enough." Ro said, "If you don't have anything nice to say."

Signs above them pointed to several places in different directions.

"Question." Francis said.

"Yes," Bill began, "The one in the cheap vest."

"Where are we going?"

Bill paused for a moment. He didn't no where to go.

"Um.. hello?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Are you shitting me?"

"How are we gonna get anywhere onfoot?" Zoey asked.

"Well we HAD a car." Nick began, "But we ran out of gas."

Coach squinted to see a large mass of things in the distance.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones headed this way." He said. They reached the cars. They were all tilted, and the doors open.

"They were all forced from their cars..." Rochelle said.

"It couldn't be by the infected..." Jack said.

Ellis began to shake, his eyes opening.

"Huh?" He said.

"Oh good, now you can die consious." Nick said, tossing the man off of him. Ellis fell to the ground. Finally being able to see clearly, he saw all the cars and the people around him. He looked at Zoey, who gave him a false smile, trying to let him know it was going to be alright. He got up, trying to process it all.

"Lets just keep going." Bill said. They walked around the cars. They picked off common that stood idly around. They saw a few signs, but there was only one sign Coach noticed.

"Whispering Oaks... I used to go here as a kid." He said with glee.

"Great," Nick said, "Now we can die here as adults."

They walked for a short while. Francis walked over to Rochelle.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey yourself." She said.

"Um... sorry about the tampon thing earlier..."

"Francis, a half hour ago, you and I fought a muscle-bound infected that took more clips than we've had birthdays. Do you really think I toke your joke that seriously?" She laughed a little.

"It's just, um..."

Nick walked by the two.

"Alright meat-head, you've hogged Rochelle long enough. I gotta talk to her."

Francis looked at Rochelle, who was looking at Nick.

"Take all the time you need, Suit." He said calmly, and walked over to Louis. Nick raised an eyebrow, not expecting him to give up so easily.

"Charming as ever, I see." Rochelle said to the con-man.

"Why are you talking to him so much?" He asked.

"Why are you so curious?" You're not jealous, are you?"

"I am NOT jealous. I just hate that guy."

"Well I don't, so yeah, I'm going to talk to him."

"It's obvious he's hitting on you."

"Yeah. So?"

"Its just... um..."

"Nick, I'm used to guys hitting on me. And if I fell for every guy who called me pretty, I'da been married ten times over. So don't worry, you still have a chance." She giggled.

"I do NOT-" He said, but Rochelle simply walked away. Ellis walked over to the con-man.

"Smooth." Ellis said.

"I don't like Rochelle." Nick said.

"Then why are you so mad she's talking to that biker dude?"

"I just don't like him."

"Keep tellin' yourself that, man."

"I hate you, Ellis."

"Well I still like you, Nick."

Zoey walked by Jack, who keep his eyes forward, as Zoey kept looking back.

"What do you keep looking at?" He asked, "Ellis?"

"What? No. Contrary to popular, not all young girls think about guys all the time."

"Then what are you looking at?"

"Just keeping an eye out for infected, and all that jazz. Why did you think Ellis?"

"No particular reason."

"Look, I'll make this perfectly clear. I am trying to survive, not get a date to prom."

"Why are you getting so defensive then?"

"I'm not getting defensive. It's just I have a few more things that need to be sorted out than my love life. You know, the infected becoming more powerful, the fact one of us is dead..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right.."

"Lets just drop it. Alright?"

"Yeah.. sure."

The 9 then stopped at the huge eighteen wheeler that took up the majority of the road.

"It took up both lanes!" Zoey said, "What an insensitive driver!"

"Were gonna have to go around." Bill said as he walked to the railing. He climbed over and tried to get footing on the grass, but the incline was too steep, and he slid down.

"Bill!" Louis yelled, and ran to the railing. Bill slid before falling into the muddy water that was below the highway. Jack went to the railing.

"Bill. How's the water?" He chuckled.

"Just fine." He answered, "Now get your ass down here."

Jack went over the railing and slid down too, followed by Ellis, than Francis, Nick, Zoey, Rochelle, Coach, Louis, Doner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid... sorry... I'm getting a little too into this.

The water was dirty, and smelt.

"Aw!" Nick said, covering his nose, "Aaaaaaaw!"

"Shut up and move." Bill said as he began walking through the water, the rest following behind. They saw a few Common standing in the water. Francis aimed at one, but Bill grabbed the barrel and lowered it.

"We don't need to draw attention to them." He told the biker.

They heard rustling in the trees. Louis looked at it, but by the time his head was completely turned, a Hunter had leapt off the tree and was headed toward Bill. Bill saw the blur, and stepped back, causing the Hunter to land a few feet away. It stood in the water, growling at them. They heard growling behind them and saw three Hunters on the railing.

"Shit.." Nick said. The Hunter infront of them prepared to pounce. Bill shot it in the face, enraging the ones behind them. They leapt down, the other survivors shooting at them. Rochelle managed to shot one in the forehead, causing it to flip before falling into the muddy water. One of the living ones landed on Ellis, knocking him into the water. The Hunter tried clawed at him, but the speed of his attack was reduced greatly by the water. It couldn't even ripped Ellis' shirt. The water, however, stopped Ellis from getting any air. He tried to scream, but all that came out was bubbles.

The third Hunter hit the ground, but was shot by Jack. Nick aimed for the water, but Coach stopped him.

"Can't hit Ellis!"

Nick looked around for a minute, mostly at Rochelle. He took a breath, and dived into the water, grabbing the Hunter. He pushed it off of Ellis, causing the Hunter to flip out. Ellis grabbed his pistol and aimed at the Hunters temple, firing multiple times. Blood poured out of the Hunter's temple, but being covered by the mud in the water. The two survivors got up out of the water. Ellis took deep breaths and looked at Nick. He ran up to Nick and put his arms around him. Nick rose his arms up in shock.

"Thank ya Nick! Thank ya!" Ellis said happily. 

"Get off me... now." Nick said. Ellis retracted the hug, "I was just paying you back.. for saving me at the mall... was all.."

"Nick, I can't thank ya enough!"

"Alright." Bill said, "Enough with the love fest. Lets get going."

The two nodded, and went with the others.

**Ain't it grand, guys? Leave a comment and tell me what you think, if you'd be so kind . Until next time :) **


	24. Chapter 24

Death or Glory

Chapter 24: The dead rise as the living fall

***Disgruntled face* I hate it when I update and the site doesn't notice. Makes me feel like I don't matter... so before go into the corner and die a little inside, I gotta update so I'm in the mainstream... yo.**

They walked through the water, trying to be as silent as possible. The threat of the unknown was the main factor. Bill was at pointing, gun ahead of him, as if waiting for the infected to ambush him. The Common infected walking through the swamp were all unresponsive and usually didn't notice the survivors. There eyes ahead, they walked for a short while and began to see the edge of the swamp.

"Lets try to move faster." BIll whispered to his comrades. They walked as quickly as they could to the exit. When they reached the half way point, the sound of crying was heard all around them.

"Witch..." Jack sighed.

"More like Witches..." Coach said, trying to identify how many there were. He saw one from a distance, sitting in the swamp water, hugging her legs. Rochelle saw one at exit of the swamp.

"Theres one ahead. Be on guard." She warned. They continued walking through the swamp, until they finally reached the incline that would get them out of the swamp. The Witch sat perfectly balanced on the incline, it wasn't as steep as the one they came in on.

"No one startle her." Zoey said. The sound of then getting out of the water was a loud splash, Bill being the first one to get out. The sound of Louis' splash caused the Witch to look up at them, with her ominous orange eyes. Bill aimed at it, and didn't breath. No one moved. She began to stand up, eyes never leaving the veteran.

"Bill." Louis whispered, "What do we do?"

Bill looked at the man for a moment, then back at the Witch. Her arms and legs more toned than that of the average Witch. Her claws longer and bloodier, her hair longer, covering most of her face with bangs. It took heavy breaths. Its arms lay on its side, not even looking like it was going to attack.

"Move slowly upward, and don't go near her." Bill said in a low pitched tone. The seven still in the water went up the incline, leading to seven more splashes. Every splash caused the Witch to twitch. She kept looking at Bill as he walked past, walking backwards to make sure it wouldn't attack.

Bill walked up to the top of the incline and saw the enterance to the Whispering Oaks amusement park. As they others got up, still watching the Witch, they saw it too. The enterance was surrounded by several bodies piled up. Nick walked over to the pile and flipped one of the bodies over. It was a man, death by shot to the head.

"Hey these people weren't infected." Nick said aloud, "Someone shot them all."

"What?" Bill said. He ran over and saw the con-man's claims were true. He flipped several bodies over. They were all executed. Coach walked over to the ticket both to find a flyer. He pulled it off and read it aloud.

"This area is under quarantine by CEDA until furhter notice. No admittance until further notice."

"The government DID this to these people?" Rochelle asked in disbelief.

"Great." Nick yelled, "In the eyes of the government, were walking fucking biohazards!"

"Nick," Zoey began, "It could one big this one big misunderstanding!"

"These people are DEAD. Soldiers killed them!" He said, stomping the ground.

"This can't be real.." Jack said, ripping the mask off of his face, "It just can't!" He slammed the mask on the ground.

"But this don't make any sense..." Ellis pondered, "where are the guards? And whys it so quiet?"

"Maybe they left?" Louis suggested.

"Maybe they were overrun.." Francis said.

Bill looked at the bodies, then the enterance.

"Lets just go." He said simply. The nine walked towards the ticket enterance and finally entered Whispering Oaks. The park was destroyed. Tents ripped and destoryed. Bodies lay, infected, CEDA, and civilian alike. A dead soldier lay dead by the enterance, claw marks had ripped through his vest, ripping the skin like a fabric. Ellis went over to the body and saw the M-16 that lay beside him.

"Francis was right.." Ellis began, "This whole place got overrun." He picked up the M-16 and checked the clip.

"We won't find help here." Francis said, "Lets get outta here before we get found."

"And go where, Francis?" Rochelle asked, "The swamp? We might be able to find something here."

"She's right." Bill nodded. Francis sighed, and nodded as well. They walked deeper into the park. They walked by a shooting range, a dart toss, and a snack bar. Jack looked to his left to find a tent unlike the others. It was a deep green, and still intact. He recognized it.

"Guys. It's a military tent." Jack said, "Lets check it out." The others agreed and went to check it out. The tent had a few beds, two IV machines, and a tray with a few papers and a small book. Zoey walked to the tray and picked up the papers. Ellis looked over her shoulder.

"What're those?" He asked.

"There memos or something I think." She answered, "Attention all medical personal, all wounded harmed by infected are to be killed by lethal injection. Scratches and bites from infected will cause the infected germs to enter the wounded's body and will infect them in 1-3 days..."

Nick looked at the scratch mark on Jack's face. Feeling the stare, he looked at the con-man.

"What're you looking at?" He asked.

"That gaping hole in your face." Nick said, gripping his gun.

"Is that a fact?" The two stood right infront of one another.

"You heard that thing, you'll be one of them soon."

"I feel fine, and I AM fine."

"Oh yeah? What do you guys think." Nick looked at the others, who all looked at the two awkwardly, "Ellis, tell them about Mark. Tell them what he tried to do."

Ellis looked at the ground, Louis and Zoey noticing the change in his demeanor.

"Coach, you know I'm right." Nick said, referring to the large man.

"He might be right." Coach sighed.

"Coach!" Zoey said, shocked.

"Well look what happened to Charolette, she got scratched, and didn't have a chance."

"But he got scratched two days ago, and he's been feeling fine." Francis growled.

"Francis," Jack smirked, "Are you defending me?"

The biker nodded.

"So what do you suggest then?" Nick asked, "We sit around and wait for Jackie here to turn infected and kill us all?"

"You're on my last nerve, Suit. I hear one more word outta you, I'm gonna-"

Nick looked at Francis with anger, "You're gonna WHAT?"

Francis took a step forward, before Ellis moved infront of him.

"The hell are you doing, kid?" Francis asked.

"Enough is enough, ya'll. We been at each others throats for too long." Ellis said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Whats the matter Ellis, scared I'm gonna kick this guys ass?"

Jack looked at Nick, his fist curling.

"The kid's right." Bill said, "You're all acting like kids."

"Bill, we have to figure out what were gonna do." Coach pointed out.

"We can't just KILL him." Rochelle said, "He's our friend!"

"He's no friend of mine, Ro." Nick said.

"Guys guys... I know tensions are high right now.." Louis began, "But we can't faulter here. We HAVE to work as a team."

"Well I didn't ASK for these new teammates, Louis." Jack said, "They've been nothing but trouble since we've met them."

"We pulled ya'll outta a crashed helicoptor!" Ellis said.

"Quit it!" Coach said, angered.

"Guys. All this yelling is gonna alert the zombies." Zoey said.

"Shut it, Cupcake." Nick said, "Men are talking."

"Hey man, don't tell her to shut up." Ellis said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want another black eye to match the one you have now?"

Bill raised his weapon in the air.

"I'd like to see you try." Ellis said.

"Is that a wish?" Nick laughed.

"Damn Suit, I can tell you aren't the friendliest person around." Francis said.

"Quit while your ahead, grease monkey."

"I'll break you, then the hick, then the rest of us can get saved while you'll be all, "Oh! We were wrong about Francis! We should have been nice to him!"

"What'd I do?"

"You stopped me from-"

_**BANG!**_

The three stopped, and looked at Bill. The barrel of his M-16 smoking.

"Thats enough out of all of you. Now. We are going to continue walking through the park, and if you have a problem with that, the next bullet will be hitting you."

Nick, Jack, Francis and Ellis all looked at one another.

"Sorry ya'll." Ellis half smiled, "Just let my temper get the besta me."

"Yeah.. sorry." Francis muttered.

Nick and Jack said nothing, though they exchanged mean looks. Bill turned and walked out of the tent, followed by Coach. The others followed. Coach walked up to the veteran.

"You sure know how to take charge." Coach complimented.

"Thanks. When you've seen what I've seen, being a leader comes natural."

"Yeah. I won't ask much. Your business is your own."

"Thanks. It's nice not having to talk to some young kid who I can't relate to."

"Yeah," Coach laughed, "I thought I woulda gone insane if I was stuck with Ellis and Nick for much longer. Ro's a smart girl though."

"Yeah, she reminds me of someone I used to know.."

Rochelle walked alone, enjoying the quiet. Francis walked over to her.

"You gonna start a fight with me too?" She asked.

"That ain't fair Ro. The Suit started it."

"And played along. You're both wrong. Now leave me alone." Rochelle walked ahead, not wanting to deal with him. She went over to Louis, and began talking to him. Francis, ever so discouraged, walked over to Nick.

"What do you want?" Nick asked, impolitely.

"Look, you can knock off the toughguy act for a minute, right?"

Nick looked at him without saying a word.

"Ro hates BOTH of us right now, and neither of us want that, right?"

"Yeah.."

"Well the only way we can fix this is if we get along. What do you say?"

"I guess I get what you're saying. Fine, were cool. For now."

The two looked over at Jack, who was walking with Ellis and Zoey.

"What about him?" Nick asked.

"If he turns... I'll handle him myself, but if not, I got no probelm with the guy."

"Those two get on my nerves so much!" Rochelle scowled. Louis rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, they're most headstrong people I've ever met. But thats what happened when you put two bulls in the same pen." Louis said.

"But I just don't get it."

"If you ask me, they both seem to have little crushes on you."

"Ugh. I already explained this to Francis."

"You and I both know it doesn't make a world of differene to them."

"Yeah. You're right."

"But they do deserve a second chance. They make up a fourth of the people you may be stuck with for the rest of your life. Might as well learn to like them."

"Yeah." Ro chuckled, "I guess you're right. I'll have to talk to them later."

_Crash!_

The two looked back, along with the others, and saw a small figure coming at them. It was the Witch from before. It charged at them, claws reaching out for them. Francis pulled out his shotgun and fired. The Witch croutched and leapt into the air, dodging the pellets. The Witch flew several feet, and landed behind Francis and Nick, and continued its charge.

"What the-!" Nick yelled in confusion as he fired at it's back with his rifle. The bullets hit her in the back, though she barely noticed them. The Witch ran past Louis and Rochelle, who fired at it, though it ignored those bullets as well.

"She's worse than the Tank!" Rochelle yelled.

Bill fired at it, until his clip ran dry. He reached for another clip, only to found he was out of them. The Witch looked directly at him, and he knew who she was coming after. Coach fired at it, and saw that the Witch was headed for Bill. She reached her claws out, before she was blindsided by the buckshot from Coach's shotgun. She flew to the side and hit the stone counter in at the shooting range. She quickly got up, and lunged at Bill yet again. Jack fired off a shell at her. The pellets spreading out, one hitting her check. It knocked her knocked her back a moment, only for her to look at Bill once more, now her face bleed. Tears rolled down her face as she let out another cry before continuing the attack. Coach fired again, hitting her in the chest. She screamed again, before finally falling to the ground,

"We need to get out of here!" Zoey yelled while reloading her hunting rifle, "More are coming."

They began to hear moaning and yelling all around them. It grew closer.

"We need to go!" Nick yelled, seeing Common coming from the enterance, "We can't fucking stay here!"

"They're all over!" Louis yelled, firing at infected climbing up the chain fence sepreating the park from the parking lot. Jack put his four shells in his shotgun.

"I'm low on ammo!" He yelled.

Ellis turned to see the enterance to the Tunnel of Love.

"Guys! Quick! Into the Tunnel of Love!" He yelled. He began running there, followed by the others. It seemed so far away, even though it was roughly 30 feet away. As they grew close, Zoey felt something grab her leg, pulling her off her feet. She fell to the ground, dropped her weapon, and was slowly being dragged by a Smoker, hidden in the incoming horde.

"Help!" Zoey yelled. Ellis turned, and saw it. He ran back, he ran past Nick.

"Ellis dammit!" Nick yelled as his friend ran to save the girl against overwhelming odds.

"Ro, keep the door open!" Nick yelled, as he stopped running, "I'm gonna go help him!"

"I got ya!" Ro yelled back, as she and Jack stepped into the Tunnel of Love. Right next to the enterance was the employee lounge. Francis opened the door first and went inside. Bill looked back too see the two men charging at the horde.

"Jack! Axe!" Bill yelled. Jack tossed the man his trusty weapon, Bill catching it and running after them.

Ellis and Nick began firing into the horde, picking off the heads of the Common horde. Nick began stomping the Smoker tougne, but it did not release it's grasp on her. Ellis grabbed Zoey's hand to stop her from being pulled.

"I can't see the Smoker!" Nick yelled, inbetween the stomp and shoot.

"Keep lookin'!" Ellis yelled. He looked at Zoey, who gave a look of hopelessness, "We'll get you out of here. I promise!"

Zoey looked at his clear blue eyes for a moment. He wasn't even scared he was about to die, he was more worried about her. And that idea just baffeled her.

"Move aside, son!" Bill yelled, raising the axe above his head. Ellis moved and Bill leapt over Zoey. He brought the axe down with all of his might on the tougne, slicing it in two. The Smoker let out a cry, as Zoey quickly got back up. Ellis and Nick fired a few more shots before turning and running. Bill and Zoey followed close behind. The infected got closer. One clawed at Nick's back, ripping the back of his suit.

"Son of a bitch!" Nick yelled, turning and fired while running, "No one messes with the suit!"

They reached the Tunnel of Love and ran into the lounge as quickly as possible. Francis and Coach slammed the door and held it back with their own weight.

"Grab something heavy!" Francis yelled. The others looked around for anything worth using. Ellis ran over to the lounge couch and pulled it slowly. Nick and Jack ran over to help him. They pushed it over to the door, Coach and Francis moving aside. The infected hit and scratched the door, but it wouldn't budge. They were safe... for now. Louis put his back on the wall and slid down.

"This has been the longest day of my life.." He said.

"Were gonna have to stay here for the rest of the night." Bill said, "Get comfortable."

He looked at Ellis and Nick, who were both panting and catching their breath. He walked over to them.

"You two fine gentlemen did me proud today." He grinned, "Risking life and limb to save Zoey."

"Well gee sir, thanks alot." Ellis smiled, "But I couldn't so much leave Zoey to die, now could I? I couldn't do that to nobody. Not even you Nick." He laughed.

"Yeah, well..." Nick began, "I couldn't let you go after her on your own. Things wouldn't be the same without you... or something." Nick said, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"Well I can't thank you two enough for helping me." Bill said, "Zoey's like a daughter to me."

"We get it, you're thankful. Knock it off before I barf on my own suit."

Bill smiled at the joke, and patted the man on the shoulder, before walking over to Coach. Francis went over to Louis and sat down next to him.

"Hey." Francis sighed.

"Hey. Whats up?" Louis greeted.

"Nothing besides the Suit being a hero. Now Rochelle is gonna like him and not me."

Louis laughed.

"Whats so funny?"

"This is highschool drama if I ever seen it. Francis, now isn't the time to swoon Ro."

"I couldn't even if I tried. She hates me now, and she won't hate Nick cuza what he just did."

"She doesn't hate you. I talked to her about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just stop being so competetive with Nick, and you'll be fine."

Francis smiled.

"Thanks Louis, maybe you're not so useless afterall."

Louis couldn't help but smile. That was the first "compliment" Francis had ever given him.

Nick sat in one of the lounge chairs beside Jack. Rochelle walked over to the two.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey.." Nick looked down at the ground, "Ro, I'm sorry about-"

"I didn't want an apology."

"Huh?" 

"I just wanted to tell you that you did good out there." She smiled. Nick smiled too. Jack just chuckled.

"I do expect you to apologize to Jack though." Rochelle said.

He looked at the soldier, who raised an eyebrow, not expecting anything.

"I'm sorry man. About everything." Nick said.

"I'm sorry about planning to shoot you in your sleep." Jack smiled.

"Um.."

"Just kidding, man. Don't worry."

"You have a weird sense of humor, man."

He looked over to Ellis, who was playing with the brim of his hat.

"Aren't you gonna give talk to him too?" Nick asked.

"He'll be getting his thanks soon enough." Jack laughed. Ro joined in. Nick rolled his eyes.

Ellis took the hat off of his head, exposing his curly brown hair. He waved it in the air to shake some dirt out of it. He didn't even notice Zoey walk over.

"Boo." Zoey said. Ellis jumped a little. Dropping his hat. Zoey quickly picked it up and held it away from him.

"Aw c'mon. That ain't cool." Ellis laughed while trying to reach for the hat.

"You like this hat way too much." Zoey said, placing it on his head. They looked at each other for a second. I just wanted to thank you, for, ya know, saving me and all."

"Well I didn't do much saving. It was all Bill with his crazy axe leap."Ellis said, "That was so awesome."

"Yeah, it was." Zoey agreed, "But even though you weren't the one to cut the tougne, you were the one who promised we'd be alright. It gave me some hope, ya know."

"Really? It was nothi-"

"Just quit trying to argue with me" Zoey smiled. Ellis gave his trademark stupid grin. What happened next surprised Ellis. Zoey wrapped her arms around him, and gave him the best hug he'd ever gotten. He hugged her back, looking up at the air, trying not to let her see him blush.

Nick looked overm to them.

"Hey Ro, wheres my hug?" Nick asked.

"Don't push your luck, Nick." Rochelle said, winking at him. He gave her a smile. It was a pretty good way to end a terrible, terrible day.

**Blah blah blah I liked writing this blah blah blah comment please blah blah blah something witty. Until next time...**


	25. Chapter 25

Death or Glory

Chapter 25: Worst. Amusement Park. Ever.

The group's celebration of escaping was shortlived. Bill, ever so focused on creating a plan, spoke out as a reminding voice.

"All right, guys." Bill said, "Fun times over, I think it's time we figure out a plan."

"I thought going into the park was a plan..?" Francis questioned.

"Well, um, sort of. I mean, we need a plan to get out of here. It's obvious the army isn't going to save us. We'll need to find safety on our own. Now, I repeat, who has a plan."

The group looked at one another silently. No one was really sure where to go. Since the two group of survivors first met, they spent to much time running away from infected, and not enough time remembering they had to get out.

"Coach," Bill continued, "You've been to this park before, right? Do you know if theres anyway we can get out?"

Coach thought for a moment, and then began.

"Well, I don't really know. At the end of the park is this huge concert area, with no exits..."

"So are we stuck...?" Nick asked.

"We are NOT stuck." Bill assured, "We just don't know what the hell we're going to do."

"Ah.."

"Well.. I remember there was a bunch a fireworks 'n shit at the concert area-thingy," Ellis said, "And at the end of every concert I ever went to, they had this huge firework show, so maybe we can use all the lights 'n fireworks to, like, signal for help."

"Not bad, kid." Bill nodded, "What do the rest of you think?"

The seven, though there was a short discussion about it, generally agreed, and it was decided.

Coach looked over at the clock by the door. 6:49 PM.

"We got about an hour and a half 'till it gets dark. I think we should go for it."

"Well, we've never seen the infected at night.." Louis said.

"Louis is right, thats when they turn into vampires." Francis agreed/teased.

"Please... tell me you're joking." Zoey sighed.

"Well there are zombies trying to chill us, is it really that hard to believe there are vampires out there?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

Jack looked over to the barricaded door, the zombies still banging on it.

"How do you suggest we fight through these guys?" He asked.

"Just open the door, and run like hell." Bill said, "Move the couch." Ellis and Louis over to the couch and began pulling it to the side. After the door was completely out of the way, Bill walked over to it, putting his hand on it.

"Everyone ready?" Bill asked.

"Yup." Ellis said.

"Yes." Louis said.

"Yup." Coach nodded.

"Yessir." Zoey said.

"Uh-huh." Rochelle said.

"Yep." Nick said.

"Lets go." Jack grinned.

Bill forced the door open, pushing the infected to the side. He ran through the door, the others behind him. They infected, still confused, finally noticed the survivors, who began running deeper into the Tunnel of Love. The few still there began giving chase. They fired behind them, knocking over the leading Common. They reached the starting point for the boats. Bill leapt into the water and kept going, the others right behind him. A Common went for Coach. He smacked it with the side of his shotgun, knocking it away, and blasted it away with a pull of the trigger. He turned and continued after the others. They began to walk down a poorly lit and small hallway. They all knew why it was so dark.

Nick looked over to Coach.

"So Coach. This bring back any memories? Just you, a cheeseburger in the darkness.."

Coach chuckled, not saying a thing.

The gushy, romantic music was played in a low pitch, in a continious loop. Given the circumstances, it was the last thing they wanted to hear.

"If I ever find the person who wrote this music.." Rochelle groaned. They made a right turn and saw a few Common standing in the water, not noticing the survivors. After shooting the few that were there, they continued to go on their way, not letting anything distract them. Ellis noticed the large, metallic sliding door on the nearby wall.

"This must lead to the electrical devices and stuff. I think we should go this way." Ellis suggested.

"Well we won't get anywhere going in a full circle." Nick said. He and Ellis holstered their weapons and began pulling it up. The sound of rusty metal clanging against the wall while moving upward was a loud, almost painful sound. The others began to hear sounds coming from both sides of the hallway.

"They hear the it!" Jack yelled, gripping the axe.

"Cover the boys!" Bill ordered.

Common poured in on both sides, dozens of them. They fired at the incoming hordes, as the sound only got louder. They had barely managed to move the enterance a few inches, as it only got slower and louder with each passing second.

"We could use some help!" Nick struggled to say.

Bill swiped a Common to the floor, shooting it when it made impact.

**Now I know what you're thinking. Tazer, didn't Bill run out of ammo in the last chapter? Well, points to you if you noticed that, you're a good reader. Well, he was in a safehouse, and all players know to pick up ammo while in a safe house... right? ... I suck...**

"Someone give them a hand!" The veteran yelled. Francis fired two more shots before running over to aid them. The combined efforts of the three managed to move the enterance slightly faster. They finally managed to get it open to the point where someone could crawl in.

"Thats as close as were gonna get!" Ellis yelled to the others, then went to his knees and crawled to the other side, Nick and Francis firing a few shots at the Common at the back of the hordes before following him.

"Let's go, let's go!" Coach yelled, as he ran for the exposed enterance. As the group began to head to the escape route, the infected did the same. Coach began crawling to through the enterance. He stopped midway. His body got caught against the ground and the metal. Nick ran over to the enterance and began pulling it up again, as Rochelle and Jack crawled through.

"Coach! If we survive this, you are going on a diet!" Nick yelled. He managed to pull it up a tad, allowing Coach to crawl through as Louis slid in. Bill, still in the water, fired wildly at the still incoming horde. Francis ducked under the enterance and yelled at Bill.

"This is NOT a good time for a 'Nam flashback, old man!"

Bill ignored the words and continued the battle. Suddenly, the gate began to creak, and began to slowly lower.

"Oh shit!" Ellis yelled, "It's breakin'!"

He and Jack ran over and held it to keep it up. Zoey went over to the enterance.

"Bill! C'mon! We have to go!" Zoey yelled.

Bill heard nothing and continued to fight. An infected jumped on Bill's back, causing him to cry out. He span frantically , as the Common's legs knocked back nearby infected. The impact caused a reflex in his trigger finger. He shot wildly, trying to get the zed off of him. The bullets hit the nearby wall, the recoil slowly raising them upward, going to the ceiling. Bill turned to the enterance, bullets hitting it. They lowered, causing the two to back away from the enterance. It lowered faster. Zoey went down to try and crawl to get him, but before she could reach it, Ellis grabbed her arm. She yelled, scaring Bill. He looked at them for a second before the enterance shut.

"BILL!" Zoey yelled. She started banging on the metal sliding door with hands, until trying to lift it back up, not moving it at all. Francis, Jack and Louis ran over to help her, but even then it wouldn't move. Francis, ever enraged, cried out. He hit the metal with the butt of his shotgun. Zoey looked over to Ellis with anger.

"Why'd you stop me?" She said in a tone Ellis had yet to hear from her.

"I was just.." He said awkwardly, "... the door was gonna shut, and I didn't... sorry."

"Zoey, it's not his fault." Louis said, looking at the ground, "You could have been crushed or something by that thing, and even if you got out, you'd be stuck out there with the horde."

Zoey sighed. She looked at the enterance.

"He can still get away though, right? He can circle-back to the enterance and we'll meet up with him, right?" She asked her friends.

"Zoey, that guy single handedly saved me from a Charger, I think he'll be fine." Louis assured the young girl.

They could still hear the bullets being fired on the other side. Then they finally stopped, hearing Bill cry.

"No!" Francis yelled. He shot the metal with his weapon, "Don't you die, you old bastard!"

"Francis!" Coach said, "We can't stay here, it's not safe."

Francis sighed, and nodded. The 8 finally noticed the area they were in. It was a room full of machines none of them really understood. There was a ladder that lead to a small, thin, metallic catwalk.

"This way." Ro said as she walked to the ladder. The others followed. Rochelle was the first one up, and followed the walk to a large. The others all walked down it as well, Zoey in the far back. Ellis kept staring back at her, until Nick whispered to him.

"Time and a place for everything, kid."

The mechanic nodded, and followed the others. Rochelle opened the door and found a long, narrow hallway, with a hole in the floor. She walked over to it and looked in it. She saw a broken swan ride, along with a few Common standing around it, oblivious to their surroundings. She looked at the others.

"Goin' down." Coach said. He went ahead of her and fell down on the swan. The wood of the swan cracked and fell apart under his pressure, but stayed in one piece. He jumped off the swan, and fired at a Common's back, killing it. The others now aware, Coach cocked his weapon. Rochelle was the second to hit the swan, and fired at the infected at the other side of the hall with her shotgun. The others all fell one by one. Coach saw an emergency exit sign in the hallway he was in.

"This way!" He yelled. The others ignored the remaining Common and followed. They ran down the hall, only a handful of infected gave chase. They reached the exit and Coach opened it. The exit was a path which had a chain link fence as the boundaires. Coach ran through, the others right behind. They shut the door, and took it slow from there on. Jack peered around and saw a sign reading "This way to the screaming oak..."

"Whats the screaming Oak?" He asked Ellis.

"Oh! Its this badass roller coaster ride thing. I was gonna go on it this summer cuz I never been tall enough to ride it with Keith 'till this year. But it's the ride closest to the concert area thing, so I bet it'll take us there!" He said.

"Coach! Ellis says we can take the screaming Oak to the concert area. Is that true?"

"Yeah, this park's rides all have hallways that lead to the other rides in case of emergencies with the employee's and shit."

"I thought we were gonna go back for Bill.." Zoey said. Francis looked back to her.

"Zoey.. we gotta keep moving. It's what Bill would have wanted." He said sadly. She looked at the ground. They reached the end of the link fence escape, and saw a sign pointing to the direction of the Screaming Oak and concert area.

"Lets just go.." Zoey said. The eight walked, trying to forget what had just happened.

**Well that ends that. I'm trying to make it better by adding more confict, and more of a "PLAN" with the survivor's. It's sort of hard trying to follow the game while adding your own spin to the story. And don't worry, we'll see whats going on with Bill next time, so you'll just have to wait until next time to see if he lives or dies. Until next time.**


	26. Chapter 26

Death or Glory

Chapter 26: Something worth fighting for

Zoey's cry finally caught the attention of occupied old man. He finally realized the enterance had slammed shut. He had no time to even focus on that, the infected became fercious. The one that had flown off of him slowly got back up. One leapt at him, causing him to step, into the claw of an infected. It ripped his jacket, causing him to squirm, the cigarette falling out of his mouth. He swung back at it, hitting the infected that had clawed him with the side of his rifle. He aimed at it's chest, and fired two shots, knocking it back, detering the infected behind it. He turned viciously behind him and sprayed the Common infront of him. They fell quickly. One ran at him, pushing nearby infected out of the way. It shocked the old man. It stood before him, claw raised. He pulled the trigger of his weapon, only to find a bullet wouldn't come out.

"Every fucking time.." He muttered. He pushed his M-16 forward, the claw hitting it. The impact caused Bill to drop the weapon. Thinking on his feet, he grabbed the infected's arm, and wrapped his leg around it's right one. He pulled back, the infected along with him. As it quickly whizzed past him, it bit the air mere centimeters from his face. He took his free hand and grabbed the back of it's head. He began pushing it downward, the speed causing it to crash into the cement under the water. He heard a loud breaking sound, before he began into the water for his weapon. He kicked around him to keep the nearby Common at bay. He finally gripped his rifle and picked it up. He smacked one of the Common in front of him and ran down the hall, the infected giving chase. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a clip for his weapon. He reloaded as fast as he could, dropping the empty clip into the water. When it was all done, he took his fresh bullets and began to deliever them into his new undead enemies. The Common were faster than him, and slowly caught up.

He wished he had Jack's axe, infact, he wished Jack was here, and Louis, and even Francis. But most of all, he wished Zoey was here. He reminded her much of someone he once knew. His breath began to get heavy, and his movement became less and less frequent. He was slowing down. He finally went to a stop, firing at the infected while trying to catch his breath.

"Dammit... don't break down now, you piece of shit." Bill thought to himself. The Common drew close. He weakly gripped his weapon and fired. They ran into his bullets like moths to flame. Finally, only one remained. It charged at him, like all of the ones he'd seen before this one. He raised his weapon at it, as it continued its charge. He tapped the trigger, releasing a single bullet. It traveled to the infected in a spiral, going directly at it, like the infected did to the veteran. It hit the zombie in the right below its hairline, just barely hitting the creatures brain. It fell feet infront of him. But he didn't care. He just needed to get to the others. He walked slowly through the tunnel of love. He missed the disscussions his friends had with one another, even if they had only just seperated. The idea of being seperated from people who's lives he protected, and people who have protected his own depressed the man. He was a bird away from his flock. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them once again. The hallway was blurring around him. He felt something around him. Warmth.

He closed his eyes once more. He was so tired. He wasn't even sure why. He walked for what seemed to be hours. He saw the exit, and took a breath. He walked through it, not sure where the others ended up. He looked around and saw the ripped tents and broken bottles. He saw a Common in the distance, but he didn't want to bother. He remembered Coach saying the concert area was at the back of the park. He began walking, hearing the footsteps of the infected behind him. He was going to turn around and just shoot it, but felt a cold object behind him.

"Drop the weapon." A voice said behind him. Bill reluctantly placed it on the ground and turned. It was a soldier. A woman, she was small, and wore a dark green camo jacket, pants, and combat boots. She wore a strange gas mask, her short blonde hair.

"The hell are you doing here, old timer?" She asked.

"I was... I was looking for the army to save me, I've been been wandering around here for hours. Thank God I ran into you."

The woman tilted her head. He wasn't sure if she was looking down or confused. Bill looked at the M-4 she aimed at him. She looked up at him again.

"Have you come into any contact with the infected?" She asked.

"I'm not infected." Bill said quietly.

"Answer the question!" She boomed, "Have you come in contact with any infected!" She poked him with the barrel of the weapon. He gripped the barrel and pushed it up. She pulled the trigger, firing in the air. In no time at all, Bill tackled her downward, causing her mask to fly off. They hit the ground hard. Bill raised a fist, but he looked at her, looking helpless, and somewhat discouraged. He lowered the fist.

"Tell me whats going on here." He sighed.

"An old man and a young woman are fighting in the middle of a deserted amusement park."

"Thats not what I meant."

"I'm not supposed to give classified information to civilians."

Bill got off of her and stood up.

"Look around, there are dead bodies everywhere, including soldiers. You were overrun, weren't you?"

She looked at him for a minute, and then at the ground.

"Y... yeah. The infected swarmed us all. Never stood a chance. This big, muscular one charged at us, ripped my squad to pieces. I killed it, barely."

Bill sighed.

"Why are there dead civilians lying infront of the park, they weren't bitten or anything."

She got up, and looked at him.

"Studies have shown the virus is changing. It's become airborne. Even survivors who haven't been touched by infected have a chance of catching. It's why I wear this gas mask."

"But.." Bill was tempted to say we, "I've been out here for days, and felt fine."

"Thats as much as I know. I don't understand it myself."

"Well we can't stay here. We've got to keep together if we want to survive this, rookie."

"I'm no rookie. Just call me Rose."

"That you're fancy hippie name?" 

"No. I'm Cpl. Rose. Rose is my last name."

"Fine. Call me Overbeck. Private first class Overbeck." 

"You served? How long?"

"Once you begin service, it never ends kid. Lets just go, we'll talk later."

Bill picked up the M-16, Rose picking up her M-4, and the two began walking. He wasn't sure if he could trust her yet. But that was the thing about the circumstance they were in. Trust the people you're with, or die. Bill's top priority was to find the others. Or die trying.


	27. Chapter 27

Death or Glory

Chapter 27: The last ride

The eight stood infront of the Screaming Oak, all that stood between them and the concert area. Zoey store at the ground, regretting what the last few minutes had caused, and hated Bill wasn't with them. Everyone one was a little depressed. Even Nick and Francis, though being the tough guys they were, they tried not to show it. Francis gripped one of the line railings as they walked through.

"I hate rollercoasters." He groaned.

"Um... you alright, Francis?" A concerned Louis asked.

"Yeah.. I just got a really weak stomach."

"The idea of fighting through dead people is fine, but walking through a roller coaster makes you want to throw up?"

"Yeah. Life's funny sometimes/"

They reached the cart exit and return area, where passengers would get on/off the cart. They walked on the weak, and oddly enough the cart was missing.

"There aren't any... loops, on this thing. Right?" Nick asked nervously.

"No. We should be fine." Coach said.

Francis peered down the tracks, and saw how dangerous it was. A single wrong move could cause a person to fall to their death, and thats without zombies chasing them. He squinted and saw the cart midway in the distance. Then he looked at Zoey. She was pale with fear and sadness. And he felt bad. It never occured to him much Zoey respected Bill. It was weird, he'd never thought that from the way they talked. She broke his train of thought.

"What?" She asked him, noticing him staring at her.

"Uh. Nothing." He said, and turned around. He turned to Coach.

"Uh, the cart is in the tracks."

"What!"

"Yeah, we're uh... gonna have to start the coaster."

"Fan-fucking-tasitic!" Coach raged.

"Yeeeeeah."

"Great." Jack said, annoyed, "Were gonna have to start the damn thing, and every zombie in the park is gonna hear it."

"Well we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Rochelle said, and with that, turned to the starting room. Jack following. Since the park was mostly run by teenagers and old people, the control panel was filled with a lever and two buttons. The lever was the emergency switch, the button closest to it the starting button, and the second button called for assisstance, which was deemed useless at this point.

Ro looked at the starting button with angst and caution. Pressing it was the escape and the trigger. Jack sighed.

"There's a little too much build-up to this button press, don't you think?" He asked. She blunk for a moment and looked at him.

"Oh, right. Sorry." She said.

"You go with the others. Tell me when you're all ready."

She nodded and left the room. Jack gripped his axe with one hand, the other prepared to hit the button the second he got the order. Rochelle walked to the others.

"Are we ready?" She asked Coach.

"Yeah. We're ready."

"Hit it, Jack!"

Jack slammed the button, and the small gate at the start of the track opened, and the in the distance, the cart shot forward. An alarm went off since there was no cart lifting off at the enterance. It was a loud, continious beep.

"Move move move!" Coach yelled and ran through the gate. Jack ran out of the starting room and as he ran to the gate, already saw infected running to the enterance. He ran through the gate, seeing the others were slightly ahead of him. Nick fired at the infected who were climbing the chain link fence surrounding the ride. His automatic weapon proved inaccurate, and only hit one infected, hitting it in the leg. They managed to get over the fence, and began climbing up the support beams of the ride, and few began coming out of the enterance after them. Ellis gripped his shotgun. One of the infected climbing the beams reached the top. As it was climbing on top, it swung at his legs. He leapt over it, barely, and lost his footing. He tripped up for a moment, Francis and Rochelle getting ahead of him.

"Ellis!" Zoey yelled, "Come on!" She said as she ran by. He turned and shot the infected that attacked him as it was halfway up. It was knocked to the side, causing it to fall over. It fell, hitting two other infected who we're climbing up.

Louis was at point, not even shooting, just running. He began to slow down when they reached an incline, his shoes not providing enough traction to keep him going forward. He slipped down as the others drew close. Nick grabbed him by the shirt.

"Get up, God dammit!" He yelled. Louis got up and tried going up the incline again, gripping the wooden boards. He got up slowly, and reached the top. He tried to walk down the other side, but his shoes caused him to slide. Once on level, he tripped and hit the ground. Nick ran ahead of him. He got up slowly and continued to run.

Coach was moving slowly and breathing heavily. He was getting so very tired. He felt something pushing against him from behind. He turned defensivley while running. Ellis was pushing him.

"C'mon man! Go! Go! GO!" He yelled.

"Ellis, keep going!" Coach ordered. Jack ran by, barely noticing the two.

"I ain't leaving you to get ate!"

Coach pushed him foward.

"I'm not getting eaten! Go!"

Ellis nodded, and began running faster ahead. Coach turned and saw the infected were catching up quickly.

"Of all the times being 44 years old pissed me off," Coach thought to himself, "THIS case takes the cake!"

He shot the infected closing in, but they're were far too many. The ones climbing up began to reach the top. Nick turned back to see the see Coach being surrounded.

"Coach!" He yelled back. He thought about turning around, but he knew Coach wouldn't want him to. Then he heard Ellis' scream.

"I'm comin' ta help ya Coach!" Ellis cried, charging at the horde, waving his shotgun around like a lunatic. He fired at the infected climbing up and the ones infront of Coach. Coach smacked an infected with the butt of his shotgun when it came in striking distance. Ellis ran up to Coach, and joined in shooting the chasers. Coach pushed his chest forward.

"Ellis,I TOLD you to go ahead!" Coach said.

"You're a damn fool if you think I'm gonna let someone else die today!" Ellis said, "Now either you come wit' me or we're both dying today!"

Coach nodded, and began running again, but this time, Ellis stayed with him.

The alarm never stopped blarring. Nick finally reached the halway point, which was a wooden platform with a roof. He ran off the cart and ran over to the fuse box. He raised his gun at it, and fired. After a few shots, the alarm ceased, and Nick's eyes darted around the platform. He saw a ramp leading to the concert area as Louis ran to the platform and ran downt the ramp. Nick stayed and shot at the infected, trying to support the others. Francis ran past him, then Rochelle, Zoey and Jack. He saw Ellis and Coach closing in, along with dozens of infected. Nick sprayed, trying not to hit the two. A bullet whizzed by Coach's head, scaring him. He ran even faster now. The two made it to the platform, triggering Nick to continue running. The three ran down the ramp, and saw the others ahead. Louis saw a sign reading: This way to the Peach Pit. It then occured to Coach the concert hall was named the Peach Pit.

"That way!" Coach yelled ahead. They all shot the chasing infected, and finally saw the Peach Pit. There wasn't much to see actual. A large row of seats, and a stage. But what was ON the stage, excited Ellis.

"Oh my God!" He yelled with glee, even though he was being chased by the undead. He saw the huge poster on the wall of the stage. The poster of the MIDNIGHT RIDERS man! Those guys are awesome! I mean, have you heard... wait, this is the narrator. Never mind.

"Guys! It's the fricking MIDNIGHT RIDERS!" Ellis said and ran for the stage.

"Ellis!" Rochelle yelled, running up the rows of seats, "This way!"

He turned over and saw he was alone on the stage. The infected ran up the stage on the stage. He aimed his weapon and pulled the trigger, to see not a single shell popped out.

**Yeah, I notice survivors tend to run out of ammo a lot in this series, but to be fair, there are a lot of zombies.**

Ellis saw one of the guitars on the stereos. He grabbed it, and wacked the first infected to get near him. The guitar let out a loud rip when making impact, as if a child was attacking the strings. He wacked the one, and laughed.

"Oh man! I'm fighting zombies with a guitar that was gonna be used by a Midnight Rider!" He yelled, and couldn't wonder if Zoey thought it was as "awesome" as he did.

As Coach ran up the rows, he looked at Ellis and sighed.

"That boy has problems... deep down problems..." He sighed.

"Oh man!" Francis said, "I kinda wanna do that now!" He ran down the rows to join Ellis.

"Am I the only man on this team who isn't an idiot?" Nick yelled in disbelief, as he reached the top row.

"Hey!" Louis and Jack said, simultaneously.

"I still mean it."

The top row had a few note worthy things. It had a male bathroom, along with a female, and a control panel. Rochelle ran up to it, and began inspecting it. All the buttons had pieces of tape explaining what they are.

"This thing controls the lighting and sounds. This is what we need to call for help!"

Francis grabbed a guitar and ran over to help Ellis. Ellis was down to one last infected. He prepared to attack, until Francis ran over, pushed Ellis aside and whacked it in the skull.

"Hey! You took my kill!" Ellis said.

"Stop complaining! This ain't a game!" Francis said.

Coach began yelling at the two.

"Alright! You two get up here! We're about to start it!"

The two, not wanting to be swarmed, began running up the rows. They reached the top, and the eight circled around for one last talk. Coach looked around the survivors, almost looking as if he was going to say goodbye.

"This is it. If this doesn't work, if there's no one nearby.." Coach began.

"We can't think like that." Rochelle assured the man, "Someone is going to hear or see it all, and they'll come to get us. They have to."

"I'm sure it'll all work out." Louis agreed, "We'll get saved, and we'll get out of here."

He walked over to the control panel, and placed his hands above the buttons. Nick looked at the group. For once, he didn't feel doomed. He almost felt they were going to make it out. But he didn't say anything. He just took a deep breath, and nodded. He looked to his left, and wasn't shocked to see Ellis looking at Zoey, her not paying attention to him.

"Forget about the girl for five minutes, kid." Nick groaned, "It could save your life."

Ellis looked at him, and nodded. He may just be right.

Francis finally said it.

"Can we just start now?" He said, impatiently, "I don't feel like dying young."

"Oh right." Louis said, "I lost my focus."

He pressed the button labeled "fireworks. Suddenly, sparks and lights flew out of the front of the stage. He pressed the button labeled "lights" and lights all around the area turned on. Loud cries and whails were heard around the area... they were coming.

**Yeah, the finale has it's own chapter. Thats right. I went there. Until next time...**


	28. Chapter 28

Death or Glory

Chapter 28: Let the dead bury their dead

The bright lights were blinding at first, the survivors being in darkness for several hours now, and the fireworks spat loudly into the air before each speck of brightness finally died out, only to be replaced by another. Undead cried out as they poured into the area, in a greater mass than ever before. They eight took shots at the infected near the control panel, only killing a handfull. The common, noticing the gunshots, finally caught wind of the survivors.

"Here they come!" Louis yelled, and reloaded his pistol.

They began to sprint up the row of seats after the fresh meat. The first to meet the same level of survivors growled. Thinking on her feet, Rochelle kicked it in the chest, causing it to fall over, and fell down the seats like stairs. Zoey, having lost and never recovered her hunting rifle, had to rely on her secondary pistol. She fired her peashooter, a bullet hitting the right cheek of an incoming infected. Unfazed, it countinued it's attack. As it neared the top, Nick fired upon it, causing it to fall over, dead.

Coach fit more shells into his shotgun. Before he cocked it, a Common darted at him. Swiftly, he smacked the infected with the barrel of the weapon, knocking it back. He then cocked it, and fired a shell into it's chest.

"There gettin' too close, man!" Ellis yelled, firing at infected less than ten feet away. He looked left, then right, looking for somewhere to run. It was only know that he realized they had nowhere to run.

Jack swung his axe as quick as he could, ripping through infected flesh with each swing. But it was as if for every one he killed, two more would take his place. He began to swing frantically as they drew closer. After a swing, as he went to prepare another, an infected had grabbed on to his axe. He struggled with it, but it's grip on the axe was far greater than his own. Francis turned and saw this, and fired at the Common. It fell to the ground, still holding onto Jack's axe. Jack, never releasing his grip either, fell to the ground with the zombie.

"Jack!" Francis yelled.

Jack, realizing it was a hopeless effort, got back up, and backed away as a Common clawed at him.

"Shit!" Jack sneered as he stepped back.

"Hey, soldier boy!" Francis called, tossing the guitar at the man. He catches it, "Somehow I think you'll play it a lot better than me."

Jack smirked and nodded, and leapt forward, thwacking the Common infront of him.

"Sir! Sir!" A young soldier said, calling out to his commanding officer. An older man walked over to him, and looked at him. The man wore several badges. He was an older gentleman, with a gray buzzcut, but well built. His green jacket, accompanied by pants and shiny black boots, he just screamed antagonist, I mean army man.

"What is it, private?" The man asked the soldier by the computer.

"A Cypher nearby the amusement park that was overrun has found something." He pointed to the screen, which was a live feed from the Cypher. It whizzed in the air, above the park, looking down at the concert area.

"We've noticed that lights and fireworks are turning on in this area."

"What are you saying?" The older man asked.

"Look at this."

The device went lower into the area to inspect the surroundings. It saw mass of infected, all going to one spot.

"... My God..." The older man said.

The Cypher turned to the left, seeing them run up the row of seats. It looked up to the top of the rows, seeing eight figures at the very top, firing at the infected.

"Are those survivors!"

"It seems so, they must have been wandering the streets for a week and a half now."

The soldier looked at the older man.

"Orders, sir?"

The commanding officer pondered for a moment. Then turned around. He walked to the door, and went over to a device near it. He pressed a button on it.

"Listen up! We've got survivors at the Whispering Oaks amusement park! I want a pick-up, NOW!"

He took his finger off of the button and smiled.

"We may have just found what we're looking for."

Bill and Rose looked at the fireworks fly into the sky. She looked at him.

"I thought you came here alone..." She said lowly.

"Well, I uh.." Bill said, trying to gather the words. Rose looked at him, enraged.

"What's the big deal?"

"You're idiot friends are going to alert the army! Did you see all those bodies laying out front!"

Bill muttered a curse word.

"We have to go! NOW!" Rose said. And the two sprinted to the concert area. They saw the infected pouring in. They heard a mighty cry, and saw a Tank run into the area with the Common.

"No! They'll get pummeled!" Bill said.

"Lets go! Lets go!"

The two finally reached the concert area. They fired at the Common, who still hadn't noticed them. After finally realizing it, they turned and attacked the two. They fired their respective weapons, ripping through the attackers. They began to run again, still firing. The infected numbers were far too great to fight through. Bill tried to call out to them.

"Zoey!" Bill cried, "Francis! Louis! Anyone!" 

"Your friends can't hear us through all the growling!" Rose told him, "If we want to reach them, they'll have to notice us."

Bill looked over to the stage, which still had most of it's equipment in-tact.

"We can call to them from there!" He said, and began to push infected away as he ran to the stage. Rose followed him as close as she could.

The infected began to come from all around the eight survivors. They fired frantically as the coming infected slowly got closer and closer.

"We need a plan!" Nick said, firing the last shot in his rifle.

"What do you we do, Coach!" Louis called to the large man.

Coach didn't answer at first. He himself didn't know.

"We just have to hold out a little longer, someone's coming for sure."

No one really believed him. They were far too in the corner to be saved. They then heard a bloody roar.

"Oh, FUCK ME!" Francis yelled, enraged. The Tank began tossing Common aside and ran up the stairs.

"This ain't gonna be fun." Ellis said, meekly.

Bill ran to the side of the stage and found props and such. He tore through them, and found a pipe bomb. He ran to the front of the stage, the heat from the fireworks all around him. He threw it with all it's might, as it began to tick and show a large, red light. The small object hit the third row, still shining bright. Common all over the area began to forget the survivors and were drawn to it. The Tank continued it's charge, and drove it's arm back, preparing to punch.

"Everyone outta the way!" Coach yelled. The survivors scattered, and the Tank released the attack, it's fist crashing through the wooden wall the survivors stood by. It looked back and forth, seeing all the survivors run in different directions. Focusing on whoever was closest, it took it's fish out of the wall, and went after Nick. The con-man frantically ran down the rows, running past infected going after the pipe bomb. It finally went off, causing a small explosion. Infected bodies flew into the air, and knocking over infected from the explosion. Nick jumped off the sixth row and flew in the air for a few seconds. The Tank, which was on the ninth row, jumped as well. Nick hit the ground rolling, the Tank crashing through the third row. Nick ran to the stage and saw Bill.

"Old man!" Nick yelled, "You're alive!" He said as he reached the stage.

Bill nodded and looked at the Tank running down the last two rows. He fired at the Tank. Rose nudged Nick as she fired at the Tank as well. It climbed up the stage, being ignited by the fireworks.

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" Nick yelled, as he, oddly enough, was the last one to fire.

Jack ran down the rows, headed for the Tank, not even acknowledging he'd been using a bloody guitar. He reached the end of the rows, and ran behind the Tank. He whacked it in the back with all his might, breaking the guitar in two. The Tank, not fazed by the attack, turned quickly, smacking Jack with it's arm. He flew a feet before hitting the ground. He got up slowly, grabbing his side. The Tank went after him, intent o finishing him.

"Jack!" Bill yelled. Rose, wanting to save him, leapt off the front of the stage, and went after it. She fired at it, getting it's attention. She pulled out her small combat knife and went at it. It began to pull a large amount of the ground up, flinging it at her. She jumped to the side, slamming against the ground, as the chunk of Earth flew by. She fired at it from the ground, but it continued to go after Jack.

_Screech!_

The sound came from the enterance. A large, metallic vehicle, rode into the Peach Pit at top speed. Seeing the Tank, it drove faster.

"What the hell is that thing?" Rochelle yelled as she and Coach ran down the rows.

"I think it's the military." Coach thought aloud.

"Holy deus ex machina, Batman!" Zoey blurted.

A soldier who rode shotgun peeked out, pulling out a grenade launcher. It fired a 'nade at the Tank's back, exploding on impact. It let out a cry. The soldier fired again, hitting the Tank in the left leg. It let out another cry, and knelt down. Firing one last shot, hitting the Tank in the back of the head, killing it instantly. The vechile stopped there, the back of it opening and a ramp entended.

"C'mon! Get in!" The driver yelled, and the ten survivors ran to the vechile. After Louis, the last one to reach the escape vechile, reached it, the ramp returned to the original position and the back closed automatically. Zoey happily smiled at Bill.

"I knew you'd be OK." She said, sincerley.

"It'll take a little more than a few infected to kill me." He grinned. He then looked at Rose, "This is Rose, she helped me get to you guys.

"Hi." Rose greeted them all.

"Whew," Coach breathed, "I'm glad we got outta that one."

Jack sat quietlly, tugging on his mask.

"Jack, were safe." Louis smiled, "I think you can take that thing off now."

He didn't say anything, just shrugged.

"You alright man?"

Jack nodded.

"Uh... alright."

"So, Rose, you were a soldier?" Rochelle asked, inspecting her uniform.

"Yeah, only survivor when the park was overrun."

"Hey, cool. Jack's was a soldier too." Zoey said.

"... Really now." Rose said, raising an eyebrow. She looked at Jack, "Jack, why don't you take that ripped up mask off."

Jack didn't look at her.

The survivors all looked at him oddly, not sure why he was being so quiet.

"Jack." Bill said, "Take the mask off."

Jack sighed, and slowly removed it. Rose's eyes opened wide seeing this, not believing it.

"Hey, Vanessa..." Jack mumbled.

"You know her?" Nick asked.

"Yeah... served together."

"I thought you served in Afghanistan?" Louis asked.

"No... I worked with her and the rest of our squad to evacuate citizens."

"I thought you were dead, Jack." Rose continued, "We all did."

Jack sat silently. The other nine became silent too.

"Jack..." Rochelle began, "Did you kill any uninfected, like the ones at the park?"

"No! I would never!"

She turned to Rose.

"And you?"

"We've all... we've all done things we aren't proud of." Rose said, bowing her head.

"You bitch." Nick sneered.

"Fuck you! I had my orders!"

"And like an idiot, you followed them without question, right?"

"Well if the military was killing survivors, why didn't they kill us?" Louis pondered.

"You've all been out here for weeks. No regular person could manag-"

"We ARE regular people." Francis cut in.

"Alright, ya'll! That's enough!" Coach boomed, "We gotta stay calm."

"Coach is right." Bill agreed, "I thought we left this shit back at the park."

"Bill, if we'd have gone to that park before it got overrun, she would have shot us without a second thought." Nick said, "She can't act like this now that she's one of us!"

The vechile stopped.

"Ah shit, we're dead." Francis sighed.

The back door opened, and the two soldiers stood before them.

"Place all your weapons on the floor and come with us. You have thirty seconds to comply before we shoot." One of soldier said.

"Alright man," Francis stood, "We've spent two weeks running for our lives, and you expect us to be threa-"

One of the soldiers went up and smacked him with the butt of his M-4. The other soldier aimed at them.

"Next one to decide to be a hero will be shot. Pick him up, and come with us." The soldier aiming said.

"Yeah..." Nick sighed, "Were fucked."

**Alright, done. Sorry this took awhile, but with school and life outside of this little computer screen, took some time. But I hope the next one will be up much quicker. Also, I'm making a new story, Assassin's Creed and stuff. Now, you don't have to read it, but if you do, I will love you forever and ever... OK, no pressure though. Until next time...**


	29. Chapter 29

Death or Glory

Chapter 29: Only the survivors die young

As the survivors marched out of the vehicle, they saw their new "home". A large, stone wall, surrounded the building, which itself was one huge, grey building. The windows were blocked from the outside world by metallic bars.

"Are we going to prison?" Nick asked. He looked back to see Louis and Ellis carry Francis off the vehicle.

"Move along, Suit." One of the grunts said.

"Oh, Suit. Original name." Nick said sarcastically, "Because I'm wearing a suit, right? Man, so much creativity there." He said as he began to walk again. As the ten survivors walked to the stone wall with the grunts, two more guards patrolled the enterance and watched as they walked by. They walked through, Rochelle being the first survivor to enter. She saw guards all around, all watching as the group walked by.

"Big brother is watching..." She mumbled.

They walked to the enterance of the building, a large, metallic set of double doors. Three guards stood by it.

"More of them..." A young soldier said quietly.

"Yeah," One of their escorts said, "They've been out there for weeks."

"Well." The guard chuckled, "They'll be right at home here."

The doors opened, and they walked in. The saw the first room. It was some sort of help desk, a secretary with a desk and a computer. A guard stood by the secretary, armed with his M-4. The escorts kept moving, the survivors reluctantly followed. They went down a hallway, with office doors next to one another on both sides. At the end of the hallway, was an elevator. One of the escorts pressed the button, and they began to wait.

"So are we gonna die?" Ellis asked. 

"Wouldn't doubt it." Rose sighed.

The doors opened.

"Everyone in. Now." One of the escorts said. The survivors began to pile in, all nine being stuck in a quite uncomfortable position. One of the escort's peeked in, and pressed the "B1" button, and retracted back.

"Pleasant journey." The escort said, waving at them.

"Fuck you." Jack said.

The escort laughed as the doors slowly closed. The elevator began moving downward, slowly.

"Well this is gonna suck." Nick said.

"What're we gonna do?" Louis asked.

"We're gonna have to bide our time, for now." Bill said, "We're unarmed, outnumbred... we need time to make a good plan."

"It seems that's all we can do..." Zoey sighed.

The doors opened, revealing, a long, long hallway. A guard on the other side of the elevator wall.

"Follow. Now." He commanded. The survivors, still fearing what could happen, they reluctantly followed him. The hallway grew darker and darker, the sound of cries of pain and people begging for death was all that could be heard in distance.

"You aren't helping these people, are you?" Louis asked the soldier.

"Sir, am I wearing a labcoat right now? All I do is carry a gun and tell civilians what to do." The guard said, not even turning around to look at them. At the end of the hallway, it split two ways, having doors on the walls. The guard opened one of the doors.

"You three!" The guard said, referring to Bill, Louis, and Ellis, "You three and the vest in here."

Ellis was about to say something, but Coach nudged him, and Ellis remembered Bill's order. The three (plus the sleeping Francis.) Went into the room. The guard slammed the door shut, and locked it. He opened the door next to it.

"Ladies go in here." He said simply. Zoey, Rochelle, and Rose went inside, and the guard shut that door as well. Nick, Coach and Jack looked at him.

"So where's our cell?" Jack asked.

"You three go first." The guard said, and walked down the left side of the hall, gesturing he expected them to follow. Coach sighed.

"Getting tired, old man?" The guard asked.

"Still awake enough to clock 'yo ass..." Coach mumbled.

They walked down the hallway until the reached the end. It held a single, solitary door, the print on the door reading: THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE

The guard opened the door, and the three went inside. It was a small office, like any one you would see when you'd go to the doctor for a cold. The room had two guards in it, but there was no doctor in sight.

"Yo Doc!" A guard called, it was female.

"Just a moment, Samantha!" A man responded. It came from the other side of the only other door in the office. There was then a loud, flushing noise. And the door finally opened. The Doctor was a thin man, his white coat very tight on him, showing his rather scrawny body. His hair was combed, and brunette. His pants sleek, and his dress shoes shiny. He walked over to the three survivors.

"Hello." He smiled. He offered a hand for Nick to shake, "I'm the Doctor."

"Uh..." Nick said, confused, "My names Nick..." He shook the man's hand. Suddenly the Doctor gripped his hand, and forced it on the counter.

"H-hey!" Nick cried.

Coach and Jack stepped foward to aid the con-man, but stopped when the two guards aimed their weapons at them.

The Doctor began inspecting Nick's hand.

"Lets see... No cuts... doesn't appear any of the blood on your hand is yours..." The Doctor pondered, "Did you, at any point, have to battle one of the infected in close-combat?"

"Yeah..." Nick answered.

"Interesting..." The Doctor said, then pulled Nick's sleeve up, and found several bruises on his arm, "Well I say, you've taken quite the beating, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Survival leads to that."

"Alice." The Doctor said nicely to one of the guards.

"Yes sir?" The guard answered.

"Would you kindly take those two other gentleman to the chamber for bloodwork?"

"Yes sir. Come with me, please." Alice told Jack and Coach.

"You gonna be alright, Nick?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, God knows I can take pipsqueak here." Nick mused.

"Well you're quite rude." The Doctor eyed the man.

The Doctor released Nick, and opened a drawer. Nick rubbed him arm and pulled the sleeve down.

"So what next? gonna grab my balls and make me cough?" Nick asked.

The Doctor pulled out two latex gloves.

"No no no, my friend." He grinned as he placed one on, "This will be much worse."

**First update in a while, I hope you guys like it.**


	30. Chapter 30

Death or Glory

Chapter 30: Broken men walk not

Weeks had passed since they had been forced in their cells. It was hard at times to know how much time has passed. Occasionally Zoey would ask the guard the time, sometimes they'd tell her, most times they'd ignore her. As it stood, the survivors had spent three weeks in their cells.

Ellis stood by the cell door, as Louis slept in the corner. Francis sat, staring at the ground, as Bill tapped the wall. He'd lost his smokes. The four rarely spoke to one another, and when they did, they didn't say much. The only upside is they didn't have to deal with any zombies for three weeks. Suddenly, they heard from the other side of the door:

"Meal time!"

A guard opened the door, and tossed the usual tray of scraps the four have had two other times today.

"How long are we gonna be here for?" Bill asked, upset, "We've been stuck here for weeks, and haven't heard anything!"

"I'm sorry, sir." The guard sighed, "But I don't know. That's up to the Doctor."

"What Doctor? You keep saying this, but we haven't heard anything from him!"

"Well... he's with his new patient right now..."

"It's not one of us," Francis asked, "Is it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." The guard said.

"It's not like were going to start a rumor about it."

"Sir, you're asking me to go against my orders, and I'd rather die than see that happen."

"Can ya at least tell us if our friends are OK?" Ellis pleaded.

"Your friends..." The guard began, "Your friends are all fine. They're all being treated by the Doctor, and-"

"Who IS this Doctor you keep talking about?" Bill blurted.

The guard sighed.

"Doc's here to check all survivors for any cuts or something."

"And if he finds any?"

"You know what we'd have to do."

"Which of our friends is with the 'Doctor' right now?" Francis asked.

"... The loud one."

Coach and Jack sat in their cell, wondering about the going on's. It'd been ages since they'd seen the others, and they worried about them all.

"Do you think Nick's alright?" Jack asked.

"That boy wasn't alright to begin with," Coach smiled, "But I'm sure he's fine."

There was a silence.

"So... how'd you all meet?" Jack asked.

Coach raised an eyebrow for a moment, and wondered why he didn't ask the man he'd been trapped in a room for three weeks with before.

"Ta start, well Ellis met me. Saved me from a Hunter. Feels weird not having him aroud. We'd met Nick while he was running from some infected, and Rochelle, we'd met in a very... er... revealing moment."

"What do you mean?"

"That's a story for another day, son. What about you and Bill and them?"

"They found me fighting a horde..."

They then heard a loud noise from the other side of the door:

"Say hello to your new roommate!" A guard yelled. The door flew open and Nick was thrown into the room, unconscious. Coach and Jack ran to him. They noticed right away he wasn't wearing his jacket.

"Heh heh..." Someone giggled. The Doctor walked into the cell, wearing Nick's jacket, arms not in the sleeves. He also wore a small gasmask.

"I've got good news and bad news." The Doctor began. "The good news is your friend's treatment is finally over.

"What's the situation, then?" Jack asked.

"I was getting to that, it's rude to cut people off." The Doctor said, the happiness leaving his tone. "Though he isn't infected, he's still somehow still carrying the virus. It's possible he's infected you all, but you're immune as well. And it's possible you can infect anyone."

"So what you're saying is..." Coach tried to comprehend.

"What I'm saying is I'm not sure. I'll be leaving him in here with you two for a while I become acquainted with a new patient... perhaps one of the women..." The Doctor said, devilishly. He took the jacket it, and tossed it onto Nick, it now covering his face. "Tell you're friend his suit doesn't breath well." The Doctor laughed, before walking out the door, slamming it loudly.

The three women slept quietly. They dream of times of happiness, that the infection is over, that they're with their loved ones. The slam then occurs. Rochelle begins to stir out of her sleep. She looks around the dark room.

"Ladies..." A voice coo's from the other side of the door. It opens, and the Doctor walks inside.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm here for my second test subject."

"So you're the guy all the guards have been talking about.." Rochelle realizes even though he already said it.

"The guards? Speaking about me behind my back? How rude! I'll make sure to them buried with the others."

Zoey and Rose begin to awaken as well.

"Who's this guy?" Zoey said, rubbing her eye.

"I don't do introductions twice, my dear. And just for that, you'll be my next patient. Stand up please."

"Excuse me?"

The Doctor's gentle tone disappears.

"I didn't stutter."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Do as I say, or I'll have you shot."

A guard walks into the cell, gripping their M-4. Zoey looks at the guard and stands up.

"Oh, the puppy learns quickly." The Doctor mused, "You should get a cookie, hold on, I believe I have one in my coat." He begins checking the pockets.

"Fuck you."

"I suppose every good story needs foreshadowing, come along then, puppy." The Doctor says as he walks out of the room. Zoey looks at the others, then follows the Doctor out of the room. The guard then follows, and slams the door shut.

"... Well shit." said Rose.

Zoey walked quickly to catch up with the Doctor.

"Yes, I know, but Zoey is a rather boring name."

"Boring?"

"Indeed. I'm still deciding what to name you. I named the last one Monkey."

"The last one...?"

The two reach his office and walk inside. A guard meets them them as they open the door.

"Hello, Doctor." Alice greeted.

"Hello, Alice! Another grand ole day, ain't it? Meet puppy." He says, referring to Zoey.

"Aw, I can tell you'll be much better than the last one."

"I should hope so, I don't want her friends to grief for three weeks."

"Who was in here last?" Zoey asked.

"Monkey. Keep up now, puppy. Now follow me to the counter."

"Jack, Nick's getting up!" Coach says, gleefully. Jack rushed over to see Nick slowly open his eyes.

"Where... where are we...?" The groggy Nick asked.

"Were in our cell. The Doctor dropped you off here not too long ago."

"I thought... I thought I was dead..." Nick said.

"Huh?" Coach said, confused.

"He told me... he told me..."

_"Alright, I'm going to put this mask on you, Monkey, and when I turn the nozzle, cyanide will replace the air you breath... chances are you won't wake up. But don't worry, you've died for science, and my amusement."_

"He made me breath... cyanide..."

"What? How are you still alive?" Jack asked.

"I just said I didn't *know*" Nick hacked.

"There's something wrong with that Doctor..." Coach said.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Jack said.

"How...?" Nick asked.

"I gotta plan..." Coach said.

**Death or Glory has returned! Sorry for the hiatus. Some outside the internet stuff sort of kept me from my computer. But I'm back!**


	31. Chapter 31

Death or Glory

Chapter 31: An apple a day

The Doctor had begun to check Zoey's arms for any scratches, rolling her sleeves up.

"So tell me, puppy. You've come into very close contact with infected, correct?" The Doctor asked.

"Define close." Zoey mused.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I have. But I'm fine. Really."

"On the outside maybe. But your body could be full of the green flu bacteria."

"If that's the case, why aren't I ripping your skin off and eating it?"

The Doctor then lets go of Zoey.

"That, my dear, is what I plan on finding out." He grinned. He turned to his guard.

"Lock the door."

Ever so loyal, the soldier complied. Zoey's eyes followed her as she turned the lock. She then looked at the Doctor, who opened a drawer, pulling out a bottle. He then grabbed a paper towel off his rack, and poured the liquid on it.

"What do you plan on doing with that?" Zoey asked, backing away slowly.

"Settle down, my dear. It will all be over soon..."

The soldier raised her weapon at Zoey.

"I implore you to listen to the Doctor." Alice the guard said. As Zoey stared at the soldier, she didn't see as the Doctor placed the towel on her mouth. The fumes coming from the towel were awful, and Zoey felt as her eyes grew heavy.

"That's a good girl..." The Doctor hissed.

Trying to resist, she gripped the Doctor's jacket, slowly releasing her grip as her eyes closed.

"... A good girl indeed..."

Zoey's vision then faded to black.

Rochelle and Rose sat in the darkness, never once having their eyes leave the ground. They worried about Zoey, and the others. The silence was finally broken.

"... I'm sorry..." Rose sighed.

"Sorry for what?" Rochelle asked.

"This whole mess."

"It's not your fault."

"I know... it's just..." Rose paused. She wanted to continue, but at the same time, she didn't want the only person she may ever see again to hate her. "We just need to find a way out of here."

"There is a way out of here, the problem is we'll be shot if we go through it."

"Well what about that Zoey girl? Do you think she can get us out?"

"I have no idea. We have no idea where she is."

Rose sighed.

"So we're screwed then?" She asked.

"Only time will tell..."

Zoey began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes. Her arms were chained against the wall. It was dark, no light in the room. She moved her arms, the chains making loud noises. She stopped at the sound of footsteps. Suddenly, the lights turned on. She was in a small room, the only other things in the room being a small table and a chair. She had been stripped down to her bra and panties. The door at the end of the room opened, the Doctor walking in, holding a clipboard.

"Good morning, puppy!" He said with a grin.

"Where the hell am I!" Zoey yelled.

"Calm down, dear girl. We're here so I can try to cure you." He said.

"Has does knocking me out, chaining me and taking my clothes supposed to cure me?"

"Well I don't need any sort of resisting to get in the way. The last thing I want to do is shoot you, my dear. Now, are you going to cooperarte, or should I put you to sleep again."

Zoey said nothing.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'. Now, we'll start off with a little excersise I like. I'll ask you a question, and if you answer truthfully, I'll let you ask a question. Sound good to you?"

"Do I have any choice?"

"No." The Doctor grinned. "You don't. First question, how long would you say you were in infected territory?"

"A week and a half, two weeks at the most." Zoey answered reluctantly.

"That's a good dog. Now you can ask me a question." He said as he wrote on the clipboard.

"Are my friends alright?" Zoey asked.

The Doctor's smile turned to a frown a devilish idea formed into his head.

"Your friends? I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Two days ago..." The Doctor began,"... a riot broke out. Some pish-pash about the military mistreating survivors. Some broke out of their cel-temporary living spaces, got ahold of some weapons..."

"Who?"

"A few of your friends. They released their comrades. I assume they were on a venture to get you and escape. They fought the good fight, but we're eventually overwhelmed by the guards."

"You mean they're all..."

"Dead. Yes."

Zoey looked at the ground for a moment.

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie to you, my dear?"

"I don't know. Why shouldn't I trust the guy who drugged me, stripped me down, and chained me to a wall?"

The Doctor walked away from her for a moment.

"My dear, you need to understand. I'm doing this for mankind's benefit. This "green flu" may wipe out humanity."

"So that gives you the right to torture and kill survivors!"

"Do NOT talk back to me, you mutt!" The Doctor said, the tone in his voice raising furiously. The Doctor began to walk towards her.

"You're just some sick fuck who likes to play-" Zoey was cut off as the Doctor violently whacked her with his clipboard.

"Don't you EVER think you can talk back to me!" The Doctor yelled.

Zoey slowly looked back to him, tasting blood in her mouth. She quickly kicked him in the chest, causing him to step back a few feet. He looked at her, enraged. He slammed the clipboard against the ground, and strided out the room, the lights staying on as he slammed the door. Zoey looked at the floor, and spit blood at it.

"I'm getting sick of this "biding our time" bullshit, Bill." Francis said, annoyed.

He stood in the middle of the room, arms folded. He looked at Bill, who layed sitting down against the wall to his left, Louis sitting a few feet to his right. Ellis stood by the door.

"Quit complaining, Francis." Bill sighed.

"We've been in here for like forever. I think it's time someone started complaining."

"Don't worry Francis." Louis assured, "Everything is gonna be-"

"Just fine. I know Louis. Everything is gonna be swell. We're gonna get out, not get shot, and live on Gilligan's Island."

"Do we really gotta do this again?" Ellis asked.

"Do what?" Francis asked back.

"I mean, you complain 'bout something, Bill says to be quiet, you complain more, and Louis says it's all gonna be cool, and you complain even more, ask why there ain't a bathroom in here, and go to sleep."

"Well... uh... I don't feel like having to wait for a guard to show up to tell him I have to go potty."

The door suddenly opened. 

"Finally! I've had to hold this since yesterday!" Francis cried with relief.

The Doctor walked through the door, raising his eyebrow at the biker.

"... And you're not one of the guards..."

The Doctor looked at each of the four. He stopped at Ellis.

"How old are you?" The Doctor asked him.

"23... sir..." He answered.

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Come with me." The Doctor then grabbed him by the wrist, and Ellis followed him out of the room.

"Where are you talking him?" Bill said, getting up.

"Don't worry... for the good of mankind... all that stuff." The Doctor said, the door closing behind him, leaving the three in the darkness.

"Looks like you're gonna have to shit yourself, Francis." Louis said.

"Shut up, Louis."


	32. Chapter 32

**Death or Glory**

Chapter 32: Everyone's a little insane

**Oh yeah. Betcha didn't think you'd be seeing that title again, did you? It's been awhile. I has been AWHILE. That's my fault. It's this long, complicated story that I'd rather not display to the Internet. Well... I'm back, and I'm sorry. All I can hope is that my old readers can forgive this ignorant kid. That's really all I've got. Let's just get back to the story before I continue to make an ass of myself.**

"So, Doc..." Ellis began as he followed the Doctor to his office, "Is this gonna be like I get a shot of some zombie-repellent stuff, a band-aid and lollipop?" he asked with his usual optimistic tone.

"I'm going to assume that's some sort of joke." The Doctor said as he rolled his eyes. They reached the door to his office, the Doctor opening the door for the young man. The two entered, and were greeted by Alice.

"Hello, Doctor." Alice said cheerfully. The Doctor smiled at her. Alice noticed Ellis, who also grinned.

"You've brought in a new patient already? But I thought you were still working on the last one...?"

"I've decided to quicken things up by working on multiple patients at the same time." He said, turning to Ellis, "Your friend is here, by the way. The young girl. "Zoey" I think she called herself."

Ellis nodded. "Yessir." He said, "I have a friend named Zoey."

"Good, good." The Doctor said, "Well, I'll just tell her you're here. I'll be back in a moment." With that, the Doctor walked to the door at the end of his office, going inside, and locking it behind him. Ellis followed him with his eyes as he did this.

"Ma'am? Do you mind if I ask a question?" Ellis asked Alice.

"I guess not." She shrugged.

"How long have you been working for this here doctor?"

'It's been..." Alice paused to think for a moment, "A good couple of years, I think."

"Ya don't remember?" He asked curiously.

"It's not that, it's just... well..."

The door opened, the Doctor peeking his head out.

"Alice?" He called, "Be a dear and give the new patient his medicine before he comes in?"

"No! Don't take it!" A voice from inside the room yelled, "Don't listen to him, he's nuts!"

Ellis recognized this voice.

"Zoey!" Ellis called out, "What are yew doing to her?" He asked the Doctor.

"I'll be with you in just a moment..!" The Doctor said angrily, slamming the door. Up until this point, Ellis hadn't noticed Alice wasn't beside him, and was instead at the counter.

"Now hold still, dear." Alice said turning, holding a rag in one hand, and her pistol in the other, "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Ellis stepped back for a moment. "What in the hell's going on here, lady?" Ellis asked. The two then heard a loud smack and a scream from the door.

"Zoey!" Ellis yelled, and went for the door, only to be stopped by Alice.

"Don't move another step. Please." She said, almost begging, "He doesn't want to hurt her, but she can't get in the way of what he's doing."

Ellis looked at the gun for a moment, then at Alice. He tackled her, causing her to fall to the ground, dropping both the rag and the gun. The two began to struggle. Alice tried to push him Ellis off and began to reach for the gun. He grabbed her arm with one hand and her mask with the other. He lifted her head against the ground, and slammed it against the floor. She cried out. Suddenly, the door burst open, the Doctor coming to see what was going on.

"Doctor!" Alice cried, she tried to continue, but Ellis then slammed her head against the floor once more. The Doctor moved forward, kicking Ellis in the head, knocking him off of Alice. Ellis' hat flew off his head, exposing his brown, curly hair. He quickly recovered, and leaped at the Doctor, who was trying to reach for the gun. Ellis began to clutch the Doctor's throat, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell did yew do ta her, you sonofabitch!" Ellis growled. He then began to feel something against the back of his head. The barrel of Alice's gun was right behind him. Alice clutched her head as she aimed the weapon at him. Ellis released his grip from the Doctor, who shoved Ellis off.

"You stupid animal!" The Doctor roared. He punched Ellis in the face, causing the young man to fall over. He then grabbed Ellis by the hair, pulling him up. Ellis cried out in pain.

"I'm not going to kill you now. But by the time I'm done with you and your little girlfriend, you're going to wish you were dead!" He yelled. Blood began to run down Ellis' nose. The Doctor grabbed the rag that was on the floor and placed it on the already helpless mechanic. Ellis' vision began to darken.

"Yew... yew..." Ellis tried to say, before everything became quiet.

"Get him on the second pair of chains." The Doctor commanded Alice, who followed the order without saying a word.

She dragged Ellis into the study room.

"Ellis?" Zoey asked, "Ellis! What the hell did you bastards do to him!" Her face was begin to bruise badly, her lips slightly swollen. Alice ignored her, and began to pull off Ellis' shirt. The Doctor walked in, walking up to Zoey.

"You told me my friends were dead!" Zoey yelled.

"I lied." The Doctor said. "I do that a lot. It's kind of my thing. I'd like to point out that what happened to him is entirely your fault."

"What are you-"

"You're the one who spoke out, causing him to attack Alice. Do you think Alice deserved that?"

Zoey said nothing.

"Did she deserve that!"

"... No."

"You're damn right she doesn't! Alice works very hard at making sure I don't beat you to death. She's your best friend in the world right now, and friends don't like seeing they're friends get hurt."

"Thank you, Doctor..." Alice said quietly as she unzipped Ellis' pants.

"But enough of that." The Doctor said as he checked his watch, "Oh dear me. This whole little episode has caused me to miss leaving on time. Time flies, eh?" He chuckled. Zoey said nothing, staring at the floor. Alice began chaining the unconscious Ellis up as the Doctor left the room.

There was silence. Zoey looked up to Alice, who didn't seem to notice.

"Why do you let him do this to us?" Zoey asked.

Alice said nothing at first, and just continued her duty. When she finished, she finally looked over to Zoey.

"There's nothing I can do." Alice said.

"You can stop him, you have a gun!"

"You don't understand..."

"There's nothing to understand. You're letting this bi-polar psychopath abuse traumatized survivors!"

"Your friend attacked me! The Doctor came to my aid!"

"And me? How do you defend what he's done to me?"

Alice made a noise, and then went silent.

"You can't, right?"

Alice continued her silence.

"You can't let him do this, you're just scared! If you don't stop being scared, he'll kill us!"

Alice began to play with her glove for a few seconds, then took it off. She showed her hand, which was extremely tan. Except for the bottom of her ring finger. Zoey raised an eyebrow.

"... No."

"He and I have been married for a six years." Alice said bluntly. "He wasn't always like this. He used to be kind, and compassionate. It's the military that changed him."

"Don't feed me that "The government's evil!" bullshit. Not while you're in uniform."

"I need to be here. If I'm not, he'd have killed you and your friend."

Silence filled the room again. It lasted for what seemed like an eternity. After a few minutes, Alice finally spoke again.

"The green virus is older than you know..." She said.

"What?" Zoey asked.

"I'm not sure of the full story. It showed up in a small city in Sri Lanka a couple years back, but not like this. The government kept it all disclosed. I read it in my husband's files. The government studied the bodies of the infected, and found the virus. They held onto it for two years, until they decided to test it on Subject Zero."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because the world needs to know."

"That's doesn't mean much since me and my friends are trapped."

"I want to help you. This whole green flu has changed my husband."

"I don't see how."

"The studying has driven him insane. The constant changing of the virus has made it near impossible to cure. Sometimes it's spread airborne, sometimes through skin contact, he couldn't figure it out."

"That doesn't excuse his actions."

"I know..."

Alice walked to the door. She turned to Zoey one last time before opening it.

"You'll get out of here, I promise you."

"What about you?"

"I won't be so lucky." Alice said calmly. She turned and went through the door, the lights shutting off behind her.


	33. Chapter 33

**Death or Glory**

Chapter 33

Ellis' eyes slowly opened as he regained his senses. He looked around the room, which was a pitch black. He couldn't move, and the only thing he could hear was someone else's breathing.

"Zoey?" He asked into the darkness, "Is that yew?"

"Ellis!" The voice said, "Thank God you're okay!" It was Zoey. He sighed with relief.

"The last thing I 'member is getting' knocked out cold by that doctor. Where are we?"

"We're in some sort of torture room. He's kept me here for…" She paused, trying to remember, "I don't remember how long it's been…"

"Neither do I. I haven't seen much of the others either."

The two became silent. It was not a long silence, but it was one that was more painful and torturous than any Hunter. One in which their minds would wander to the what-ifs. The silence was broken by something from the other side of the door. It suddenly opened, their morning greeter entering.

"Good morning, darlings!" The Doctor greeted, grinning.

"I'll kill yew, yew bastard!" Ellis yelled, trying desperately to break free of his bonding.

"Calm down, boy. Do you not like the new tie?" The Doctor asked, pointing to his blood red tie. The Doctor paced forward to Zoey, who's eyes were glued to the ground. He patted her cheek.

"Wakey wakey, dear. We've got a big day ahead of us."

Zoey didn't flinch. The Doctor, irked, walked towards Ellis.

"And how is the yokel feeling this morning?"

Ellis swept his legs at the Doctor, who was out of his reach.

"Calm down, child." The Doctor laughed, "Alice will be here shortly to give you your medication."

"Then you're gonna try and kill us, like ya did to Nick, right?" Ellis said angrily.

The Doctor thought or a moment and then shrugged.

"Probably."

The door opened again.

"Hello, Alice." The Doctor said instinctively. As she walked through the door, The Doctor noticed something in her hand. She raised it at him. A gun.

"What in the blazes are you doing?"

"It's time we stop this, David." She said.

"You wouldn't dare." The Doctor taunted, "You'd miss me too much."

"I no longer have a choice."She said as she walked to Ellis. Still aiming at the Doctor, she pulled a key out of her pocket, "You've gone too far."

"The guards will hear the shot." He said quickly. "They'll come and kill you and these two."

"No they won't. It's too late for me.." She said, unhooking Ellis' left arm, "But I believe in them."

"Do you really expect that Disney logic to get these peons and their moronic friends through a legion of military grunts?"

"Someone needs to get away. We can't let this stay quiet.."

The Doctor stepped forward. Alice quickly aimed at his leg, firing. The bullet crashed into his right leg, forcing him to his knees.

"AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He cried with pain.

Sniffling could be heard from behind Alice's mask. She finally unhooked Ellis, who walked away from the wall, staring at the Doctor.

"You bitch!" The Doctor yelled, "You stupid bitch! You've killed yourself!"

Alice, ignoring him, moved to Zoey. After unchaining her, Alice looked at her husband, who store with his bloodthirsty eyes. She aimed the pistol at him.

"Get out of here, you two." Alice said.

Ellis and Zoey both nodded. The two walked to the door. Suddenly Zoey stopped. She turned, just for a moment, before walking through the door.

"You can't do this!" The Doctor said.

"I have to." She said blankly, "Goodbye, my love."

The Doctor didn't scream. He didn't cry. He simply looked at the barrel of the gun, before the last thing he saw before the bullet entered his forehead was its leaving the gun. Alice went to her knees. She didn't want to cry. She lifted the gun once more, this time aiming at herself.

Ellis and Zoey didn't hear the second shot. It was quiet. Much like Alice herself.


End file.
